#a decent sized part of me wishes I could go back to before… but I can’t. I mean I could. but I can’t.

[justtogetthrough]

Today I went outside and it extra smelled like ~farm~ and it was this surreal moment where I felt like a character from the show I just watched, having to escape to a new place to get away from all the fucked up shit that was causing trouble.

I walked out to grab my garbage can, looking at the farms around me and thinking about how I’ve never lived in the country before, and how my ex is the reason I’m here. I literally had to leave the place that once felt like home and start a new life over in a new place and it’s all so different and it’s… hard. To go from the lifestyle I had before, to this.

[yourmidnightlover]

the sun

pairing: bucky barnes x fem!reader

summary: after the events of the snap, you find out news that's both heart wrenching and warming. what happens five years later when bucky's back?

warnings: death, mourning, pregnancy, childbirth, canon-typical violence (not much but just adding to cover all the bases), loosely based on end game and infinity war (as in ignore my mistakes lmaooo), if i failed to mention any warnings PLEASE LET ME KNOW!

wc: 2.6k

a/n: dude idk why i've had an urge to write such heart wrenching angst lately. i'm actually in a decent place rn. i tried to cut this fic down bc originally it was SOOOO long i felt like a lot of it was just filler and i feel like shorter fics of mine tend to do better... ANYWHO! this does have a happy/hopeful ending so no worries! also picturing this beefcake for this story is AGHHHHHHH!

you never thought two lines on a stick could ever break your heart the way they did.

tears clouded your vision as you gripped the counter, trying not to crumble or succumb to your grief.

6 weeks ago, the avengers lost. everything.

half of the world, gone in a moment.

in one moment, your world collapsed. seeing bucky fade to dust right in front of you...

sobs wracked through your body as you crumbled to the ground.

this was supposed to be a happy moment. there should be tears of joy, not sobs of sorrow. your heart should feel full of love, not like there's a super-soldier sized hole in it.

"y/n," nat's voice rang outside the door, giving you a moment to yourself.

"just-," you tried to level your breathing before she opened the door, knowing but not understanding the grief you were feeling.

she wrapped her arms around your body, tucking your head into her neck as she gently rubbed your back soothingly. steve leaned against the bathroom door, glancing on the counter to see what they had all expected.

a positive pregnancy test.

you were having bucky's baby.

without bucky.

you gripped his dog tags that you had been wearing since the funeral. they were the only thing that could truly ground you.

they brought back happy memories of cuddling in bed, the cool metal shocking your skin for only a moment before realizing that it was only bucky and smiling at the memory.

god, it hadn't even been two months.

how were you supposed to do this alone?

"we're here for you," steve's voice called from the doorway, as if he could hear your thoughts. "you'll never be alone. not in this... not ever." he shook his head, his brows furrowed in a serious, straight line.

eventually, your sobs subsided. you stood with nat from your seat on the ground, wiping your own eyes mustering up a pathetic smile before she left you and steve to work out your grief together.

"we didn't even know it was possible," you shrugged. "it's like he sent me them..." you placed your hand on an invisible bump before facing steve, his teary eyes reminding you that he had lost his best friend, too. "he sent us this baby."

you reached your hand out for steve to hold. he took it gratefully and pulled you into his arms, hugging you tight and letting only a few tears slip his waterline before pulling back.

"if you'll let me, i want to be there for you for everything," his chin wobbled. "buck would kick my ass if i let you go through this alone." a genuine laugh left your lips for the first time in nearly two months.

"i would be so grateful for that," you nodded as you let go of his arms. "part of me still can't believe that it's real. it's like part of me still expects him to walk into the compound from a long mission or something..." you shook your head. "i know that sounds so stupid."

"it's not," he shook his head with a smile. "it's what i wish was true, maybe it's your subconscious trying to preserve your mind?"

"maybe," you shrugged before continuing, "i should probably talk to tony and bruce, huh?"

-

you knew you were around eight weeks along.

according to the doctors' tony had enlisted, however, you were already 12 weeks along, which was impossible.

bucky had been gone on a mission at that time... but it's whatever. you got to hear the heartbeat. steve went with you, too. you both bawled together. you kept three copies of the ultrasound and he kept two.

banner had already offered to do some testing on the dna of the baby, noting that the serum would likely affect the pregnancy (as it probably already has).

you had talked to tony about retiring from the whole superhero gig for the time being. you needed to mourn and prepare for a new life simultaneously. tony had promised to provide anything you needed at the drop of a hat, and he sure as hell delivered.

within no time, your pregnancy was being measured at 20 weeks while only being pregnant for 12. banner was concerned for your body's ability to keep up with the rapid rate of growth of the baby. he had you on a strict, hefty diet with two different prenatal vitamins in attempt to help your nutrition.

in spite of your best efforts, you were always exhausted and in pain. but you wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. this was bucky's baby. you didn't care how much pain you went through when you had half of him growing inside of you.

you couldn't walk for long without feeling like passing out, which banner chalked up to low iron. steve had grown progressively more worried for you and the baby the longer the pregnancy went on.

as a result, he had moved into the spare room that was in your and bucky's house. truly, it just made it easier for him to help you finish up the nursery anyway.

he was very handy about it all, painting, building furniture from scratch, the whole deal.

"i've been thinking... and if it's a girl, i want to name her evangeline james barnes," you informed steve as you ate the steak he had been making for the past few weeks of your pregnancy, as ordered by dr. banner. that with carrots, broccoli, potatoes, and for dessert strawberries, blueberries and raspberries over ice cream. "and if it's a boy, cyrus james barnes. evangeline means good news, and cyrus means sun."

steve placed his hand over yours, "i think buck would've loved them." he smiled warmly as you downed the food in a few minutes.

you had begun showing soon after you found out you were pregnant, but now, it felt like it was impossible to hide. nat had been wonderful about helping you keep up with the changes your body was going through, getting you new maternity clothes every week.

she even made sure to get you every single craving that wasn't in accordance to banner's hefty diet. not that he didn't want you to eat more, he thought it was best you did! but he also wanted to make sure that with all that you did eat, your body got as many nutrients as possible.

just to be safe, he kept you on other vitamin supplements anyway.

you couldn't help but imagine what bucky would say or do about everything now.

he would hold your body closely, pressing firm kisses to your bump every chance he could get while whispering some sickly sweet sayings to your unborn child, words that would melt the winter soldier's cold exterior.

he would whisper words of encouragement any moment you felt worried about your abilities to be a mom. he would say how beautiful you were, in spite of being bloated in places you didn't know could bloat.

he would be wonderful, and in your mind, he was still alive and vibrant. well, as vibrant as bucky ever was, at least.

truthfully, that's the only way you were able to keep going on like this. steve was wonderful, but you couldn't help but want the love of your life by your side as you tried to navigate this new chapter.

in a couple more weeks, you were projected to be at 32 weeks. bruce and tony were talking with your doctors about the safety of inducing so early, both for you and the baby.

oh, and you wanted the gender to be a surprise.

and within the week, you were having your baby.

steve and nat were by your side during the birth, whispering encouraging words and compliments of your strength.

"i need him!" you screamed in pain as you held one of each of their hands, sobbing in agony. "i need james! i need my bucky! i can't do this alone, i can't-i can't!"

"you can," nat reminded you. "this baby needs you," she held your face to look at hers. "bucky is a part of this baby." you swore you could see tears in her eyes before turning to face steve.

"remember what you told me when you found out you were pregnant?" he didn't bother wiping the tears from his face. "bucky sent you-sent us this baby. he knows you can do it." you sniffled before nodding at your two best friends, pushing with one last scream and a second later, you had...

"cyrus james barnes," the nurse called to you. "it's a boy, congratulations mom."

-

the next few years went by quicker than you could've ever imagined.

crawling, first words, first steps...

you missed bucky. not a day passed where you didn't miss him.

but, having cy helped a lot. he looked just like his father. dark brown hair, icy blue eyes, a cute little nose... not to mention his father's stubbornness.

you made sure he knew who his father was. you took him to the museum often, showing him the statue of his father and his background in the world war, him saving the world so much. you told him how you fell in love with him.

how you fell for the quiet man before ever really talking to him. how you were partners on a long-term, undercover mission and that's where your love ignited from the sparks.

not that cy understood any of what you told him. you just felt it was important to know that his parents loved him, and each other dearly.

you never took off his dog tags, either.

steve was a huge help the whole time. he kept working for the avengers, so he was gone often, but he provided a good male role model for cyrus. after all, he was his uncle steve. he already taught him how to throw a ball, albeit a little softball, but it counts!

you made sure to document everything that went on in yours and cyrus's life.

banner had said that cyrus was growing at an exceeding rate, but nothing to be concerned about. in fact, cyrus was turning five in almost half a year, meaning the anniversary of bucky's death, or disappearance or whatever you called it, was coming up.

then, you got a call from tony and banner.

it all happened so quickly, from testing to planning to the execution. pepper watched cyrus for you while you went back with steve, scott, and tony to get the tesseract.

of course, the men being men had to come upon a few hiccups, but eventually, after going as far back as the 70s, you brought back the tesseract.

the only thing is that nat never came back...

next thing you know, bruce is snapping his fingers and clint is getting a call from his supposedly deceased wife. your eyes fill with tears, hands searching in your pockets for your phone to see if you've gotten anything yet.

is it possible he wasn't brought back? he was the first to... disintegrate. die. maybe that meant something in the eyes of the stones?

then, you felt a buzz in your hand.

although, you didn't have any time to try to grasp what that meant, because more aliens came to earth.

shocker.

after yet another war, one that you weren't even prepared for, after losing more people, again. after losing tony...

but amidst the chaos of the aftermath of the fight, with screams of joy and shock and grief surrounding you, tears streaming down your face, your eyes met the blue ones you only saw in your son.

he slowly walked towards you as the tears sped up. you didn't even realize when your feet began running towards him.

when his arms wrapped around your waist, you finally felt the home you thought you had come to terms with never feeling again. your arms wrapped around his neck, your face buried in his shoulder as you breathed in the scent of gunmetal that had overtaken him in the battle.

"oh my god," you cried into the leather of his jacket. he lifted you off the ground, your legs wrapping around his waist as you felt his smile on your cheek. "i can't believe you're really here."

"i'm here, doll," his hands cradled your head so tenderly. "i'm not ever leaving again. never."

you pulled back before your eyes widened in realization. "you've gotta meet someone, jamie."

his brows furrowed in confusion, just smiling and nodding along with whatever you said.

within the next few hours, simply being held by bucky before steve stole him away with a hug, you finally brought him home.

"so, steve moved in," you started as you pulled your car into the driveway, turning to see bucky looking at you with an incredulous look. "you'll see why." you reached to hold his hand before he brought yours to his lips, pressing a kiss there.

you told him to wait in the car as you went inside to relieve the babysitter for cyrus. after giving him some cash, he went outside, knocking on your car window to let bucky know he should make his way inside.

upon entering, he saw you sitting on the floor with a little boy with striking blue eyes that seemed so familiar to him. his nose, too. his lips though, they were all yours. he had a slight grin plastered on his lips, one that matched yours to a t.

"daddy?" suddenly, it all clicked.

his heart, his mind, his fucking soul, everything made sense now. the pain, hydra, the mind washing, the torture.

meeting you. falling in love. dying?

his son.

he started walking closer to bucky before the steady walk turned into a run. bucky knelt down, wrapping the boy in his arms, cradling his tiny frame in his arms protectively. his son.

"cyrus james barnes," you said with a teary smile on your face. bucky, without breaking the hug with his son, looked up at you with a smile that matched yours. "cyrus means 'sun', and i thought it was fitting. he brought me so much light and hope after you..." you choked up before he stood up with cy in his arms, walking towards you before wrapping you in the big, family hug.

"i love you so much, both of you."

[verkomy]

okay so I’m rereading the hobbit and I want to make a list of my favorite quotes and parts so here we go:

“bilbo (…) got something a bit queer in his make-up from the took side” I chuckled

“mr. baggins was very fond of flowers” of course he was he’s a blorbo

“it was a beautiful golden harp, and when thorin struck it the music began all at once, so sudden and sweet that bilbo forgot everything else” bombastic side eye

“as he lay in bed he could hear thorin still humming to himself in the best bedroom next to him. bilbo went to sleep with that in his ears, and it gave him very uncomfortable dreams” criminal offensive side eye

“the explanation did not seem to explain” my brain 24/7 (but also when someone’s trying to explain the rules of any board game to me)

“bilbo was wearing a dark-green hood and a dark-green cloak borrowed from dwalin. they were too large for him, and he looked rather comic” bilbo in dwarven clothes, just throwing it out there

“bilbo baggins, a bur — a hobbit,” said poor bilbo, shaking all over, and wondering how to make owl-noises before their throttled him” this one made me laugh

“trolls simply detest the very sight of dwarves (uncooked)” this one too

“his house was perfect, whether you liked food, or sleep, or work, or story-telling, or singing, or just sitting and thinking best, or a pleasant mixture of them all” I want to go to there

“dori, who was at the back next to bilbo, and a decent fellow. he made the hobbit scramble on his shoulders as best as he could with his tied hands, and then off they all went at a run. (…) that sent them on faster than ever, and as poor bilbo could not possibly go half as fast, they took it in turn to carry him on their backs” WE WERE ROBBED

“why, o why did I ever leave my hobbit-hole!” said poor mr. baggins bumping up and down on bombur’s back “why, o why did I ever bring a wretched little hobbit on a treasure hunt!” said poor bombur” comedic duo

gandalf answered angrily “I brought him, and I don’t bring things that are of no use” we love a supportive friend

“(gandalf) gave bilbo a queer look from under his bushy eyebrows” live gandalf reaction

“you ought not to be rude to an eagle, when you are only the size of a hobbit” good life advice

“here they sat on wooden benches while gandalf began his tale, and bilbo swung his dangling legs and looked at the flowers in the garden” a short king <3

“that only makes eleven and not fourteen, unless wizards count differently to other people” I LOVE BOOK BEORN SO MUCH and this whole chapter is probably my favorite by far

“the hobbit felt quite crushed, and as there seemed nothing else to do he did go to bed” what a mood

“long noses are sometimes useful you see” do with that information what you want

“they knew only too well that they would soon all have been dead, if it had not been for the hobbit; and they thanked him many times” AS THEY SHOULD, too bad thorin didn’t see any of what happened

“he did not like being dependent on by everyone, and he wished he had the wizard at hand” honestly, same

“never laugh at live dragon, bilbo you fool” another hopeful advice

“you are more worthy to wear the armour of elf-princes than many that have looked more comely in it. but wonder if thorin oakenshield will see it too” ouch

“then bilbo turned away, and he went by himself, and sat alone wrapped in a blanket, and, whether you believe it or not, he wept until his eyes were red and his voice was hoarse” this one hurts

“he was in fact held by all the hobbits of the neighbourhood to be queer” of course he was :D

[fan-goddess]

His pretty muse {3)

Pairing: Modern!Aegon Targaryen x reader

Summary: Aegon finds what he thinks is love simply by looking through his camera lens. The only issue is, you don’t know how much he truly admires your beauty and how much he comes to crave you

Warnings: Dark themes mentioned, masterbation, pervy!aegon, talk of male oral, (any I missed let me know)

Story Taglist: @jamespotterismydaddy, @chompchompluke, @flrboyd, @teazlic, @sajida-cameron, @valeskafics,

Author Note: If you wish to be added to the taglist then please comment. If you wish to be taken out of it then say that here aswell. If it’s in bold I am unable to tag you

Other Chapters: one, two, three,

Other links: My Pretty Muse Masterlist

Aegon doesn’t regret a thing when he wakes up that morning and uses you as a way to rid himself of his morning wood. His hand finds itself sliding under the thin blanket he slept in last night and grips himself tightly. Your name is muttered like a prayer under his breath as his head goes back to those images of you last night.

He knows he could easily just go get his laptop to look at the pictures more clearly, but he’s way to lazy to go and grab it even if it’s only a few steps away. Besides, he’s already moved on from thinking of those photos to thinking of scenarios of you in such scandalous positions it’d make the maiden blush. His favourite by far, and the one that makes him cum, is the thought of you on your knees in-front of him looking up at him through your lashes while you struggle to take all of him in your mouth.

He grabs a random sock on the side of his bed and wipes himself down when he’s finished, before trailing to the shower and blasting himself in some cold water. After he dries himself off he debates on what to wear to take you on a supposed tour of the town, but to be perfectly honest, he knows jack shit apart from a spot that famous for suicides. Though he honestly doubts he’ll be able to weave that fact in without making you run for your perfect fucking family…

He decides on some butt ugly polo shirt he accidentally stole of his brother years ago when he left. It’s slightly tight on him cause of how bigger he’s gotten practically living of fish and chips, but hey, anything for his girl right? He even puts some weird conditioner thing in his hair before ultimately rethinking about how freakishly like his brother he became in that moment. “Like a god damn vampire…” he giggles slightly when he looks at himself in the mirror, before sticking his head under the tap and rinsing it to start all over again.

He’s eventually done though, and walks to the direction of your house with his hands in his trouser pockets and his camera tucked away on his desk, for once by on him. He refuses to scare you away just yet, even though the thought kind of excites him. He even whistles a part of a song he heard walking past a house with an open window. He thinks it’s called pumped up kicks or something like that.

When he gets to your house, he finally gets a chance to look at it in the sunlight. It’s a decent sized bungalow, but the paintwork is fucking ghastly. It’s supposed to be a golden yellow, a colour he knew well in his former life, yet here it’s changed into some sickly jaundice piss stained yellow. If you ever ask if he wants to help with housework, he’s starting with this whether you agree with him or not.

The house he can hear has already come alive with people. Children’s screams and adults shouting echo of the house in waves. He even hears his own ‘name’ shouted. “Sissy your lover boy is here for you!”

It almost brings a sort of smile to his face when he knocks, and the chaos within seems to get ten times louder. He hears you most clearly. Demanding your parents/grandparents to keep the kids away from the town that day so you can’t run into them, with the whining of the kids following swiftly afterwards. You come out a couple minutes later. Your cheeks are red with he assumes is embarrassment yet his head can’t help but think of the possible reasons for having red cheeks.

“Sorry about them. My family’s kinda annoyed I’m not going with them on this stupid walk they planned, yet gave no one else a heads up on about until this morning-“ Usually he finds himself wanting to smack ramblers who can’t get to the point. Yet while you do so he can’t help but find it cute and endearing. He hears you talk but he doesn’t really listen, cause all he can think while you’re doing it is how cute you are. Your hands are moving in time with your voice. When it rises, your hands rise too. It’s an awfully funny thing to witness not that he’s noticed it.

He doesn’t even realise that the two of you are walking though while he pretends to listen to you. Yet your sudden direction of voice brings him out of this little bubble he made just for you. “I thought you said about giving me a tour?” You giggled as you spoke, yet when you raised your eyebrow almost daringly you somehow manage to turn something so perfectly innocent, into something so damn seductive.

“Well sorry princess. Kinda got caught up in your story. I mean, what is a guy supposed to focus on when a beautiful womans talking to him? Not give her attention? Now that’s just cruel of him.” His fuckboy charm doesn’t seem to have any problem coming back to him. Even after a couple years of not using it it seems he still has the swagger. It practically roars in remembrance when you blush at the compliment.

“Wow you’re a real charmer aren’t you PM…” That fucking nickname mixed with the fucking smile you have, it nearly makes him pop a boner there and then.

“Hell yeah I am princess.” It’s a simple response mixed with a simple lazy wink, yet that combo seemed to make you react the most. Your face turns a light pink and your mouth moulds itself into a bashful smile. It’s got to be one of his best works yet he’s got to say.

The walk he hadn’t even realised they were on continues. He halfheartedly talks about the buildings they pass, playing into that tour guide thing he said he’d do but had no intention of actually doing. He makes sure to put in his own personal spin to it though. He makes sure to say stories about the people who live their or frequent there.

“A man named Paul lives there. He’s goes absolutely fucking mental when you step on his grass. Parently he sprayed some little kids with his hose a couple years ago when they played on it. Even gave one a bloody nose cause they fell down getting sprayed or some shit.”

“No!” You gasped. It goes on like that for around an hour. Just him and you messing about discussing gossip about people like the weird women at his mothers boring as fuck book club.

Whilst he’s in the middle of the rumour on one of the fisherman shagging the fish however, you stop, and when he looks back you’ve got a massive grin on your face.

“Something wrong pretty girl?” He asks. It’s strange, as he both does and doesn’t mean the sentimental tone behind it. You don’t respond immediately, only pointing to something behind him with that grin still on your face.

When he turns around, the memory of it hits him like a freight train. It’s an ice cream shop, and he said he’d buy you an ice cream. An internal panic hits him suddenly. What if he has no money on him? Would you think he’s poor for not having any money on him? (Even though he knows he technically is no doubt) or would you pity him and try and play a sympathy card?

While you walk to the entrance, his hands frantically shake and pull at any and all of his pockets, and low and behold the faint sigh of relief when his hand clasps on a lim forgotten twenty pound note hidden away. His footsteps slap against the hard shop as he enters and finds you grinning with rosy cheeks waiting for him.

“You already know what you want princess?” He asks.

“I’m thinking vanilla. It’s basic but a classic.” You ponder. When he looks at the flavours he remembers why he never comes in here. He’s an indecisive little shit.

“Good choice!” The kid behind the counter smiles. It’s obvious the kids not entirely thrilled to be there. The smiles too forced and the eyes look way to dull. Even the way he spoke the generic saying Aegon would bet his boss told him to say, was as if the freaking Terminator voiced him. And the cherry on top, the kids name tag says his names Geoffrey. What kind of sick fuck names there kid Geoffrey in this time? Sociopaths from the fucking thirties, that’s who.

When you turn to him, the kids eyes seem to droop down to look at your tits, and it takes everything in him not to leap over that counter and beat him till he’s unconscious with that stupid ice cream scooper he’s holding.

“Hey kid” The attentions of the tits now, and the kid can no doubt see the anger in his eyes. “I’ll get a vanilla too. In a tub, not a cone though.”

He can already feel the judgment radiating off in waves. Reflecting off the once vibrant now sickly shade of yellow of the ice cream parlour walls. The two of you don’t have to wait long till the kids calling for the two of you, as unsurprisingly enough, no one wants to go in the piss coloured ice cream parlour.

When he walks outside, holding the door open for you like from some stupid romcom movie his sister always raved on, he leads you to an old bench overlooking some trees. It’s like one of those things old married couples do. Sit on an old bench no doubt dedicated to some old person and feed the ducks.

Before the two of you have even sat down, he’s already ditched the pathetic pink plastic spoon the kid gave him. So instead, he uses his preferred method of eating ice cream. Holding the tub to his lips and licking it straight from the tub. He can feel your eyes watching him. Though whether it was from the way he was eating it or the tub itself he has no idea.

“Oh princess your staring” he practically sings. From the corner of his eye he sees your head quickly turn back to your own food and lick it a couple times. It takes everything in him to not groan out loud when he eagerly watched you kitten lick the white liquid that already begun to drip down your hand from the heat.

The silence between him and yourself though he finds is strange nice. Every so rarely often with the move of his arm his elbow brushes against your own arm, and Aegon has to stop himself every time from obsessing in his mind over the small contact.

Eventually the sun gets to his ice cream, leaving the dessert to pool in his cup. So he does what any sane person would do. He tilts it back and drinks it like a shot. He can see your head turn to him while he does this, the slurping sound not silent in anyway whatsoever. When he’s done and wipes whatever remnants stayed on his face he hears a little giggle coming from his left. A little giggle coming from you.

Aegon turns to you with a lazy grin. Mainly to tease you about the giggle, yet his gaze seems to zero in on a small dollop of ice cream that hangs in the corner of your mouth. He can’t even find himself able to look away. The once lazy grin he can feel fade as his hand moves with a mind of its own to wipe away at the white stuff with his thumb. It doesn’t end there, as he next licks at that very same thumb to get rid of the ice cream while making direct eye contact with you.

“Sorry…” He awkwardly smiles. Deep inside, he knows damn well he doesn’t mean the apology. He’d probably do it again if it meant he could touch you over and over. He’s probably even lick the remnants straight of your skin if you asked him to.

“It’s okay” you still someone manage to smile so cutely with a blush that’s taken your face hostage. “Why do you do that? Eat ice cream with a tub?”

Aegons never really had to think about it. Even though no one ever asked. Maybe it was cause he always hung about with the sheep kids in school. The ones who only hung onto your every word cause you had more money than them, and by the seven did he have a lot. “I’ve never had a cone before. Plus It always seems to go soggy whenever ice creams there for too long and all I can think about when I see it is wet cardboard.”

“Okay.” That’s all you say? Okay! Where’s the judgement?! Where’s the calling him a weirdo?! Where’s the normal human response?

“You don’t think it’s weird?” He’s insecurity creeps up on him as his nail gets pushed further into his palm. It’s a bad habit yes, learnt straight from mother dearest, but it distracts him from the humiliation with a nice feeling of pain. So why stop when he’s having fun?

“We all have our preferences, and you just have yours. Who am I to judge?” You say with a shrug as you go back to eating your cone. It’s simple how you said it. It was so simple and short. Yet why does he feel like he’s having a heart attack?

Aegon doesn’t speak for the rest of the ice cream part of the, is it a date? Do you count it as a date? He probably would count it as a date but only if you-

“You okay?” It’s your voice that brings him out of whatever mind melt he just went through. Yet he could never tell you that. If there’s one thing he got beat into him, men don’t show emotion. Or at least that’s what he was taught and shown anyway.

“I’m fine princess.” Again, the fuckboy smile comes out and is rewarded with a blush. His heart goes fast at the sight of it. It beats even fast when there’s more white ice cream on the corner of your lip, slowing dripping down the side of your mouth. If there’s a god out there, he’s currently torturing him.

It’s only worse for him when this time, you feel the ice cream and lick it away with your tongue. The sight of it makes his pants stir.

“What now- oh shit!” The shocked face you make leaves his head spinning. He turns his head a couple times to see if it’s something around the two of you which made you act so… surprised, but there’s no one but him and you, as-well as some old cat that wonders around. You couldn’t be that much of a cat lady right?

“I still don’t really know your name! I’m practically on a date with a complete stranger! Good gods for all I know you’re planning on taking me back to your place and locking me in a basement!” That’s actually sort of close… only he doesn’t have a basement. Should he invest in a basement?

“No one knows my real name princess. That’s kinda the point of why people call me PM.” Aegon attempts to diffuse the sudden tension with another fuck boy smile, but if anything it seems to make it worse…

“So you’re telling me no one in this entire town knows who you really are?”

“Nope.” It’s a simple answer, for a simple question. Yet it makes him think about it all. No one in this town does actually know who he is. The hair should’ve been a dead give away for who he was, yet no one questioned him about it. No one in any conversation he’d ever had in this town ever really asked him questions about him…

“What’s it begin with?” Your voice breaks him out of the tangent, yet when he turns his to look at you he’s forced to look straight into your eyes. Your very pretty, very close to him eyes.

“What?”

“Your name. Your real name. Not some made up alias you came up with but your actual, parent given or whatever adult given name. Tell me what it begins with if your not comfortable to say it fully.”

Aegon sighs in defeat when he sees your determined eyes. Again, your very close to him eyes that make his own want to drift to your lips and see if they taste of the vanilla ice cream. “My father picked my name, mainly cause he was a traditional cunt. It begins with an A.”

“Anthony?”

“Like that Bridgerton dude?”

“You watch Bridgerton?”

“No I remember when I was on the beach and a bunch of girls in skimpy bikinis were talking about the dude. Sounds like a dick for ditching his betrothed for her sister if you asked me.”

“Gonna just ignore that for the bigger issue… Arnold?”

“GET TO THE CHOPPER!”

“Dear gods give me strength… How about Archie?”

“Nope”

“Archibald?”

“Is that what I am to you princess? A fucking duke from the m 1800’s? I’m very harshly offended!”

“Achilles?”

“Are you trying to ask insinuate something princess?”

A frustrated sort of growl rips from your throat, and Aegon can’t help himself from thinking that’s the most hottest thing he’s ever heard. It almost naws at his head the idea that you growl like that in bed. When he takes you from behind, would you growl like that just for him while he’s cumming inside and paining your insides white? He certainly hopes so. He’s not very sorry for the fact he can feel himself getting hard in front of you. As why should he? He’ll be hopefully fucking you soon enough.

“You are so annoying!” You moan with your hands clenched in what he assumes is frustration. It makes him subconsciously smile from amusement.

“That’s the goal princess.” He winks for what feels like the tenth time today. That inner fuck boy really seems to be coming back full swing, though the worst part is he can’t tell if it’s a good or a bad thing. The good part is, he’s able to flirt with you like a bird flying. Scoring a couple deep blushes he’ll store the image of later. The bad part however, now that part of him is unlocked, the thoughts of that lifestyle are hitting him full force.

The images of you with that ice cream on your lips sending his mind racing. Sounds of you groaning playing again and again as if they’re on some old record player he can’t turn off. The taste of the ice cream is what he’s thinking your lips would taste like if he was to kiss you.

To be honest, the rest of the date not date went like a blur. As if he’d somehow snorted some sort of coke and was in some hallucinagenic high or something. Yeah, he remembers showing you the rest of the shitty buildings and telling you peoples secrets like you and him were on some shitty quiz show (unlike catchphrase if you ever dissed catchphrase he’d probably have to kill you). But honestly, it was as if he was watching it from above. The only way he can think of to describe it is from that marvel movie Dr Strange with the weird ghost thing they do.

The only way he’s brought back to his own body is when he felt the sudden warmth of your body on his. The feeling like his soul was entering his body hitting him harshly and quickly as he realised what was going on. You were hugging him. Your hands were wrapped around him and your head was in his neck.

Aegon can’t deny he didn’t enjoy the feeling of your warmth, but he also can’t deny the uncomfortable feeling of the hug itself. His arms though did not move, only limply and awkwardly stiff at his sides. His chin was brushing against the shell of your ear. Worst of all, he could feel his chest beating like he ran one of those marathon things, it’s almost worst that he doesn’t know if why his heart was beating so fast whether because it was from the sudden affection, or because while you hugged him he realised he could feel the imprint of your breasts.

You look up at him with your chest still in quite close proximity to his own, and your hands placed on his forearms. You seem to ponder something with a raised brow, as your mouth already begins to move.“You’re not a big hug kinda guy are you?”

“No I guess not.” He simply shrugs. His arms still hang limply, while your face is still close. He’s almost tempted to lean forward and close that gap. See if your lips will taste like the vanilla ice cream you were licking not long ago. He can’t deny though that he likes this act even better than going for the taste. A small torture for a large reward. Maybe it’s the masochist in him? Or the sadist that revels in the cat and mouse game your not even aware your playing. Call him insane, it’s not like he’s never heard it before anyway.

[fanficimagery]

Pretty Baked 1/2

When you decide to move and open up a shop in Charming, California, the local motorcycle club that runs out of Teller-Morrow Automotive practically adopts you and introduces you to their world.

PART ONE | PART TWO

Words: 8K Author's Note: Sons of Anarchy!AU. No Clay. I'm sorry if you like him, but he intimidates me more often than not lmao. And as much as I love kid fics, I've decided against Abel existing in this imagine. Just go with it.

When you were just fourteen, there was an unfortunate accident which claimed your parents' lives. The life insurance money for both of them was split between you and your brother, but neither of you could touch it until you turned eighteen. Your brother hit eighteen first and immediately left the care of your uncle, spending his money without a care in the world. And no matter how much you and your uncle told him to spend it wisely or invest, he didn't listen.

So when you came into your money, you asked your uncle for help. He helped you invest most of it and then you used a small portion of it to help put you through school. You went to school for a business degree, and when you graduated you used the recipes your uncle's girlfriend showed you to open up a small bakery and coffee shop. You only made and sold a few select items, and the coffee you brewed was plain. Many businesses sold fancy, expensive drinks, but you wanted to keep it original. The elderly locals of the small Texas town you grew up in adored you for keeping the prices affordable and in return they made Pretty Baked one of the best breakfast joints to eat from.

Over the years you slowly expanded on Pretty Baked, bettering your uncle and girlfriend's lives since they had looked after you for years. But then your brother started coming back around, asking for cash here and there when he couldn't make ends meet. And against everyone's wishes and your own better judgment, you gave him the cash.

You quickly grew tired of Texas and your brother's entitled attitude towards the cash you earned for a living, so you started looking for a place elsewhere to set up shop. You don't know what made you look into California, but you did and you looked for a small town that could possibly use a little boost.

Charming, California, in your eyes, was the perfect candidate. And after searching for buildings for sale, you found one that was within a decent price range, as well as a small three bedroom house too. So after leaving your uncle in charge of Pretty Baked's Texas location, you moved to Charming to open up your second location.

More worried about your living situation first, a few friends helped you load up a moving truck that your uncle would drive to California for you while you drove your Ford Explorer. Those same friends also made the drive with you, your two Great Danes, and your uncle, and they helped put together your bed and drop your dog's mattresses in one of the spare bedrooms before wishing you luck and leaving you to your own devices.

Furnishing your house was easy since you didn't care for anything fancy and everything you wanted was fortunately in stock there at the stores. You had new sofas, another queen sized bed for the third room, a kitchen table and chairs, a coffee table and a TV all delivered in one day. It took you a couple of days to get everything put together and on the day you've had your new refrigerator installed, you're surprised to hear your doorbell ring as you're in the middle of making a grocery list.

Your two Great Danes erupt into chaos, rushing the door and barking.

"Knock it off!" You shout. Immediately the dogs stop barking, coming to heel as they walk around you so they can see who the guest is as well. You sigh and then paste on a friendly smile as you swing open the door. The woman standing there is easily in her 40s, rocking a black skin tight long sleeve shirt whose sleeves are sheer, skin tight jeans that are tucked into knee high black heeled boots with a tupperware container in hand. Her brunette hair is curled and waved to perfection, blonde highlights added in here and there. All in all, she's one smokin' cougar. "Hello."

"Hiya, sweetheart," she drawls, amusement lacing her tone. Shit. She definitely caught you ogling her. "Name's Gemma. My son lives a couple houses down from you and I thought I'd welcome 'ya to the neighborhood. I brought you some treats."

You wince as your dogs immediately respond to one of their favorite words, their deep woofs making even you startle. Whirling around, you raise your pointer finger at them. "No!"

"Holy shit," Gemma exclaims.

You mentally laugh, knowing your two Great Danes paint a menacing picture. Both are pitch black with their ears clipped. Both have dark brown leather collars, silver plaques pinned to them with their names and your information on them in case they get lost. "She means treats for me, not you. Behave!" Once your dogs settle, you turn back around. "Sorry about that. I'm YN and the two bodyguards are Grimm and Reaper."

Gemma's eyes immediately sparkle. "You're joking."

"Nope."

She laughs. "I love it."

"Thanks." You stand there for a split second before you remember your manners. "Oh shit. Come in!" You say, gesturing her inside. "Sorry for not offering sooner. And sorry about the mess. I just had my appliances put in today."

"It's not a problem." She walks in as if she owns the place, heels clicking. You smile as you see her pat each of your dogs heads, obviously looking around as she makes her way towards the kitchen. "Wow. Place looks great."

"Been in here before?" You ask as you follow, Grimm and Reaper following behind you as well.

"Yeah. I thought my son would like this place, but he preferred something smaller."

You huff. "I would have to, but my dogs are my babies. I needed room for them."

"Oh yeah?" Gemma places the Tupperware container on your table, taking a seat. She looks you up and down before you take your own seat, smirking at you. "So where does Charming's newest resident hail from?"

You arch an eyebrow at her. This was probably the town's biggest gossip, but you didn't have anything to hide. "From an equally small town down in Texas."

"Reason for the move?"

"I'm opening up a second location for my bakery."

"Really?" She drawls. "Tell me more."

You chuckle at her. "You want my whole life story, don't you?"

"Well, aren't you a smart girl?"

"Fair enough. I'd wanna know all about the newbie too." You sigh, reaching for her Tupperware of treats and popping open the lid. Chocolate chip cookies are inside, and you readily bite into one, groaning in delight. "These are good." You shove the rest of the cookie into your mouth and then wipe the crumbs off on the bottom of your shirt. "So, uh, my parents died when I was young. My uncle and girlfriend raised me and my brother, but my brother split as soon as he was of age and came into possession of his share of our parents life insurance money."

Gemma scoffs. "Typical."

"Yep. Anyway, when I came into my portion of the money, I invested most of it and put myself through college. Afterwards, I opened up Pretty Baked. My uncle's girlfriend had some fruit kolache recipes that she taught me so we excelled at that. Then over time, I added in sausage kolaches, other various doughnuts and simple coffees since nowadays all everyone sells is the expensive shit."

"Good for you." She genuinely seems impressed. "So your business did well then?"

"It did. So well, in fact, that I was able to better my uncle and his girlfriend's lives as a thank you for stepping in when my parents died. But then I wanted a change in scenery, so I looked elsewhere to set up shop and Charming met the criteria I was looking for- small, but loyal."

"And you plan to keep this shop exactly like your Texas location?"

"Oh yeah. I'm gonna have to keep my menu very small right now until I can hire staff that knows what they're doing, but eventually- if business does well here- I hope to expand the menu to everything I sell down in Texas."

"Well I, for one, can't wait to try what you have to offer."

"Thanks. It's gonna be a while since I still have to order all the appliances for the shop, but I can make you a tester's tray to try a bit of everything."

"Yes. I love that idea." Gemma's phone vibrates from within her pocket and without even looking at it, she says, "That's my cue. I should get going."

"Oh. Okay." You stand up at the same time she does, tutting at Grimm and Reaper when they move to follow. "Thanks for stopping by."

"It was my pleasure, baby girl." She reaches into her back pocket, pulling out a business card and handing it to you. "My family and I own Teller-Morrow Automotive here in Charming. If you need anything or want to drop off some snacks, call the office. I'm the one who files all the paperwork and handles the phone."

"Yeah. I will." You smile at her, opening your front door and stepping aside so she can walk out. "It was nice meeting you, Gemma."

She smirks over her shoulder. "You too, baby. And if you do stop by the shop, bring those precious dogs of yours. I have a feeling my boys would love them."

The following day you finally get to go grocery shopping after having let the new refrigerator cool off overnight to make sure it was working properly. It was, so now you're anxious to stock it and your cabinets.

You manage to get everything you want, plus some snacks you're sure you don't need but desperately want, and load it all up into the backseat of your vehicle. Then after locking the doors, you take your basket back inside to go buy the dog food next.

An employee helps you get two large bags loaded into your basket when he sees you struggling, but unfortunately gets called away before he could help you out to the parking lot. Groaning, you head out by yourself and walk over to your Ford Explorer. Pressing the button for the hatchback to open, you wait until it's fully up before trying your luck with the too heavy bags.

You've only managed to get the first bag halfway out of the basket and on the edge of your trunk space when the basket starts to roll back, and you curse as you try to stop it with your foot. Stuck in an awkward position, you curse again. "Fuck my life."

There's a snort behind you. "Need some help there, darlin'?"

The voice is quite pleasant so you don't bother rejecting the offer. "Yes, please. Fuckin' dog food weighs a ton and I'm just one tiny person!" A man walks around to be in front of you, easily taking the bag of dog food from you and loading it. As he works, you quickly check him out- dirty blonde hair slightly slicked back, blonde facial hair and what appears to be some sort of motorcycle club vest over a plain white tee. As he loads the second one, you smile at him. "Thanks."

"No problem." He smiles and you do your best not to swoon. "I'm Jax. You new around here?"

"YN. And yeah. Just got in a few days ago."

He nods and then gestures to the dog food. "You gonna be good getting that off at your house?"

"Probably not." You chuckle. "I'll just back up to my garage and pull them out. I'll slide them into a corner or something."

Jax chuckles. "You sure? I don't mind lending a helping hand. We, here in Charming, look out for our own."

"Being in a new place and all, I should say no, but I'm from Texas where we help out anyone and everyone," you say. Shrugging, you then tell him, "Fuck it. If you're offering, I'll definitely accept the help."

"Well alright then. What's the address? I'll follow you on my bike." You rattle off your address to him and are surprised when his eyebrows raise to his hairline. "No shit? I live on that street too. In fact, I think I'm only a few houses down."

Something in your mind clicks and you give him a quick lookover once more. "You related to that hot, yet very intimidating woman that goes by Gemma?"

Jax barks out a laugh. "That's my ma. She introduced herself to you already?"

"Yep." You grin. "Brought me cookies to butter me up for my whole life story. I caved." Your blonde companion snorts and you shrug. "I couldn't help myself. She's really hot."

"Should I worry about you chasing after my ma?"

You shake your head and shut the hatchback. "Nah. I only appreciate good looking women. I don't sleep with them."

"Good to know." Jax's blue eyes sparkle and you curse your luck. Figures mother and son would be smokin' hot. "So should we get going?"

"Yeah! I have groceries in the backseat that I need to get home too."

"Well alright then. Lead the way."

After putting the basket away, you jog back to your vehicle and buckle in behind the steering wheel. The drive to your house is pretty short and you park in your driveway while Jax parks in the street. You open the hatchback and then walk around to open the back passenger door, grabbing as many bags as you can.

Jax manages to get one bag of dog food lifted up onto his shoulder and he readily follows you to the front door.

"Guard your nuts," you muse.

"What?" You smirk at his expression, throwing open the door and immediately step aside. The deep, menacing woofs don't startle you this time and you laugh at Jax when his jaw drops upon seeing your dogs rushing him. One arm holds tight to the bag of dog food and his free hand immediately covers his junk when Grimm noses his crotch. "What the fuck."

"You're new and you have their food. They're easily excitable."

"They're intimidating as hell, but not very good guard dogs."

"Wanna bet?" You grin and then look at your dogs. "Boys, sit!" Immediately, the Great Danes back off of Jax and sit, staring at you. You then point to the front door. "Guard." Your dogs get up and sit by the door, ears sticking straight up and not moving a muscle. You look back at Jax. "Walk towards the door."

"Why?"

"Just do it."

Jax takes a moment to consider it before he takes three steps towards the door and both your dogs stand, growling menacingly at him. "Alright. I get it. They're good guard dogs."

"Damn right they are." You then look at your dogs again, softening your voice. "Alright, boys, go play." Their tails immediately start wagging and then they're off, rushing off into the house.

"Those are some smart dogs you have," Jax says, following you into the kitchen.

You place your groceries on the counter and then open the pantry door. "Put the dog food in there," you say. "And yeah. Grimm and Reaper are the best."

"What did you just say? What are their names?"

"Grimm and Reaper." Jax laughs. "Why is that funny? Even Gemma found amusement in their names." He turns around and it's then you take notice of the grim reaper on the back of his vest. "Oh. Is it like the mascot of your club or something?"

"Everyone around here and other MC's associate the reaper with the Sons of Anarchy." You nod, understanding their amusement now. "It looks like Fate brought you here."

You snort, pushing off the counter and heading for your door once again. "If you say so." Your cell suddenly rings and you pull it out of your pocket, frowning at the name that flashes across it. You silence the call and then shove it back down into your pocket.

"Boyfriend?" Jax guesses, watching you carefully.

"Nah. Brother." You shrug. "I'll call him back later."

Jax doesn't say anything else as he follows you outside, grabbing the other bag of dog food while you grab up even more groceries. Once everything is inside, you turn towards Jax who is crouched and scratching the necks of your dogs.

"So thanks for everything," you tell him. "Those bags of dog food would have been an issue for me."

"Anytime, darlin'." He stands, flashing that annoyingly pretty smile of his. "So I guess I'll see you around then?"

"Of course." You escort him to the front door so you can see him off. "After all, Charming is pretty small."

Over the next week, you spend a majority of your time cleaning up the shop that is set to become Pretty Baked's second location. Gemma had stopped by to check out the building and offer any help should you need or want any, but the work kept your mind and hands busy so you were perfectly content doing all the work by yourself. Then before she had left, the two of you traded cell phone numbers and you promised to call her soon to let her know you were heading over with breakfast goods.

You call in the orders for all the kitchen equipment you're gonna need, as well as tables and chairs and any artwork you can hang on the walls. The tables, chairs and artwork are going to come in within a week, but the kitchen equipment is set to be delivered within three weeks.

So in the meantime, you make good on that promise to Gemma one morning. And after making sure she's going to be in the office at Teller-Morrow Automotive by at least seven in the morning, you wake up at five in the morning to start baking.

You only have the stuff, and the time, for cheese sausage kolaches, as well as apple and raspberry kolaches. You have a bag of the special blend coffee beans that's really popular back in Texas, so you make a pot for Gemma to try and to get her opinion on it. You're not sure how many people work at the auto shop, so you figure ten each of the sausage, apple and raspberry kolaches should be good enough. Then after pouring the entire coffee pot into an enormous thermos jug, you grab a stack of styrofoam cups and whistle for your dogs.

Grimm and Reaper get put up in the backseat and the trunk space of your vehicle, and you load up the goods in the front seat with you. It's seven forty-five by the time you're pulling out of your driveway and find yourself on the way to Teller-Morrow Automotive.

When you pull up to the auto shop, Gemma waves you down and directs you to a parking space. You're not surprised to see various motorcycles parked alongside the side of the building or the few bikers groggily walking around.

"Well don't you look all bushy-tailed and bright-eyed," Gemma muses as you hope out of your vehicle.

"I've been up since five," you say. "And have had about five cups of coffee."

She huffs in amusement. "Did you bring your babies?"

"Of course." You open up the back door. "Let's go, Reaper." The Great Dane hops down, circling Gemma before sniffing her hand and taking a seat next to her. She smiles, scratching between his ears. "Grimm, you're next buddy," you say as you open up the hatchback. Grimm joins his brother and you slam the door shut, walking over to your passenger seat to bring out the goodies.

"So what'd you bring us?" Gemma asks.

"Cheese sausage kolaches, as well as apple and raspberry," you tell her. "Also brought some coffee for you to try."

"Excellent. Let's sit down at the picnic tables. I'm sure some of the guys will find us there."

"Okay. Are my boys good to explore?"

"Sure thing." As you and Gemma settle down at one of the tables, you set everything out. She sits, eying the goods as you take off the lids. "So what do you recommend?"

"Personally I love the sausage kolaches," you tell her. "It's good, especially if you're in a rush."

"Alright. I'll try one of those." Gemma grabs one, arching an eyebrow at the size of the sausage wrapped in a puffy breading. You shrug and she takes a bite, and you nervously watch as she chews and chews before swallowing.

"Well?"

She grins and takes another bite. "Not what I was expecting, but it's good. Especially considering it's breakfast food."

You exhale with relief and then fill one of the cups with some coffee. "Try this. It's one of the blends I brew and sell. I don't have sugar or milk, so you'll have to drink it black."

Her nose wrinkles, but she accepts it anyway. "I don't like my coffee black, but I guess I can try it since you took the time to brew it."

Gemma takes a drink and you smirk when you see her eyes widen. "Good, right?"

"Oh, honey, please tell me you have more of this stuff stocked somewhere in your house?" Gemma takes another drink, savoring it. "I don't think I can wait until your grand opening."

You chuckle. "Don't worry. This is my favorite. I have lots at my house."

"Whoa! Whose fuckin' horses?!" You turn around and watch a curly-haired individual, guarding his crotch and pushing the faces of your dogs away from him.

"Tig!" Gemma shouts. "Come here." The individual in question looks over, running a hand over his face as if he'd just woken up before heading in your direction. One of your dogs shoves his nose into Tig's stomach and he winces, attempting to shove him away.

You and Gemma chuckle, but you end up whistling sharply to get your dogs' attention. They perk up, awaiting a command, and you snap your fingers before pointing at the asphalt next to the picnic table. "Lay down." They trot over to do as they're told and then when Tig drops into the spot next to Gemma, you smile apologetically. "Sorry about that. Grimm and Reaper love greeting new people."

Tig sits a little straighter. "Did you just call them Grimm and Reaper?"

"I did."

Tig slowly smirks and Gemma introduces the two of you. "Tig, meet YN and her children. They just moved to Charming. YN, this is Tig."

You nod at him. "Hello."

He nods back and, before Gemma can tell him to try anything, he grabs one of the apple kolaches and shoves it in his mouth. He groans and you grin, and he grabs another before pouring himself some coffee. "Gem, where did you get this stuff?"

Gemma smugly grins at you. "Our newest resident and friend here makes them. She's opening up a shop pretty soon."

Tig groans some more, grabbing a sausage kolache this time and eating half of it in one bite. "Sweetheart, if you truly made these I'll be your first customer."

"I did and I'll hold you to it." You slowly grin at him.

"Do you know when the grand opening will be?" Gemma asks.

"Yeah, it's-" Your phone suddenly rings and you cringe, apologizing to them while quickly pulling it out. Seeing your brother's name, you silence it and set it down on the table top. "So, uh, the grand opening will be probably in about two months or so. My usual hours are from five thirty in the morning until two in the afternoon, but for the first day I'll probably open at noon until five so no one has to worry about waking up super early for something they've never tried before."

"That's smart," Gemma says.

The roar of motorcycles catches your attention and Gemma waves them off. "It's just Jax and a few others. They had a run a couple of days ago, so they're just returning."

You nod as if you understand what a run for them means, watching as the four men disembark their bikes. The tall man with a full beard and a beanie adorning his head is the one who nudges Jax and gestures in your direction, and you smile when you see recognition dawn on the blonde dreamboat. Grimm and Reaper notice him then, whining and twitching as if they're about to disobey your earlier command.

Rolling your eyes at your dogs, you grin and glance back up at Jax. "Guard your nuts!" You shout, laughing when Jax seems to brace himself and then cover himself. The other three men with him look curiously at you and the second you utter, "Go!", they freeze when the two Great Danes leap up and bound towards them.

"Holy shit!" The brown-skinned man with a mohawk exclaims. "These dogs are huge!"

Grimm and Reaper happily greet Jax before trying their luck with the other three, and you snort when two of them get noses to the crotch.

"You met my boy?" Gemma asks.

You glance back at her, nodding. "At the supermarket. I was having trouble with the bags of dog food. Jax offered a hand." She looks pleased about that tidbit of information, but before either of you can say anything, the men are joining you.

"Hey, YN. What are you doing here?" Jax takes a seat next to you, straddling the bench to your left while the bearded biker takes a seat on your right. Both men each have a dog interested in them.

"I brought some stuff over for your mom to try. She and Tig are fans."

He smiles. "Oh yeah? What'd you bring?"

Someone groans and you look over at the mohawked man who's clutching a styrofoam cup in his hands. "Goddamn that's some good coffee."

The other two men you don't know take that as their cue to reach for something to eat and drink, and Jax shakes his head at them. He makes introductions for you, gesturing to Happy, Juice and then Opie who's sitting on your other side. You smile at each of them and then at Jax when he grabs something to eat. Each of them are surprised and practically eat everything you've brought, and it's Juice who asks where you got the coffee from.

"I, uh, I have it flown in for my shop," you tell him. "Pretty Baked is still a couple months away from opening, but I got a few bags of the coffee at my house. I'll bring a bag so you guys can have some here."

"Pretty Baked?" Opie asks, lips twitching.

"My bakery," you tell him, chuckling bashfully. "I might have been a little stoned while brainstorming name ideas. My uncle thought it was hilarious and now I'm opening a second location here in Charming."

Your phone vibrates on the tabletop and once you see the name, you silence the vibrations. "You can get that," Gemma says. "That's the second call you've ignored."

"It's fine." You shake your head, grinning. "Just the brother." Out of the corner of your eye, you see Grimm set his big head on the table, staring at Happy who's shoving a pastry into his mouth. "Grimm! Head off the table." Grimm whines, but does as he's told. Only to plop his head on Happy's knee. "I swear they're better mannered. I just have a feeling that Happy fed him and now he's kissing his ass."

The table chuckles. Your phone vibrates again and you swipe it off the table, silencing it and shoving it into your pocket.

"Alright. Spill," Gemma says.

"Spill what?"

"You know exactly what. Why are you dodging your brother's call? You runnin' or something?"

"Not really." Your vague answer doesn't sit well with anyone and you sigh when you realize the whole table is expecting more. Glancing at Gemma, you ask, "So remember how I told you my brother split with his half of the life insurance money?"

"Yeah."

"Well when his half ran out, he came crawling back when he realized my little shop was bringing in some cash. He asked for money to make ends meet and I coughed it up."

Opie huffs. "Big mistake."

"Yeah, well he was my brother," you say in defense of your actions. "Everyone warned me not to, but I didn't listen. And then soon enough the cash I gave him went from paying his bills to paying for his drunken benders and hookups." You reach for one of the last remaining pastries and take a bite out of it. "Anyway, I finally put my foot down and stopped giving away my money. He had the audacity to call it family money as if he worked his ass for it and eventually I got tired of his pestering. My uncle gave his full support of me leaving Texas and here I am. The phone calls are probably just my idiot brother only now realizing that his personal ATM is no longer within a five minute drive."

"I'm sorry, baby," Gemma says. "That's no way to treat family."

"Yeah."

"You worried he'll come looking?" Jax wonders, gaze concerned.

You glance at him, shaking your head. "Nah. And if he does, I'll just have to deal with his nagging. I'm good."

You sit around a little while longer before the guys have to go. Jax squeezes your shoulder before he takes his leave, everyone else welcoming you to Charming before filling up their cups one last time, petting Grimm and Reaper, and then heading into the building connected to the garage.

"They like you," Gemma muses once it's just you and her again.

"They were probably just exhausted after whatever run they got back from and were grateful for the fuel."

"If that's what you want to think."

Your phone vibrates in your pocket again and you sigh. "I should get going and finally deal with my brother," you say. "We should do this again."

"We will. Keep me updated on your shop as well. If you need any help, you have my number."

Over the next couple of months, Gemma stays true to her word and helps you out around the shop. Even the Sons of Anarchy show up, doing some heavy lifting when your kitchen appliances finally arrive. Then after the shop was put together, you knew you couldn't do everything on your own. So after putting flyers out around town, you took a chance on hiring two newly graduated teenagers just looking for some easy money during their gap year- two teenagers who didn't cower at the sight of the Sons, but still talked to them with the respect that they showed everyone else.

The day of Pretty Baked's grand opening in California, you drop off Grimm and Reaper at the auto shop where the club's prospect Half-Sack happily takes over care for them for the day. Chibs, Bobby, Juice and Happy wish you luck, and Gemma rides with you to the shop to get ready. Emma and Todd, your teenage help, are already sweeping and wiping down the tables and counters when you get in.

At five minutes 'til opening, you glance out the front windows and are surprised to see a small crowd gathering.

"Chin up, sweetheart, and smile pretty," Gemma says as she slides an arm around your shoulders, leading you towards the door. "The local paper is here too. They want to do an article on Pretty Baked."

"Oh my god," you quietly groan.

Emma and Todd laugh, the two of them following behind you. Gemma squeezes your shoulder before stepping off to the side, and your two employees stand on either side of you. The small crowd quiets down, the only sound being the click and flash of a camera as you decide to address them.

You give a small speech, thanking them for coming out and giving your little shop a chance. The local paper's photographer asks for a picture of you and your employees posed in front, and then you're opening the door and welcoming everyone inside.

You have three different flavored sausage kolaches and four different fruit kolache flavors for sale, as well as three different blends of coffee. And while you dealt with the food sales, Emma and Todd handled the coffees since you taught them how to brew them properly. You weren't surprised that the sausage kolaches did well, but you were surprised with the fruit sales. Apparently the strawberry and cream cheese was a big hit, as was the coffee that some of your elderly visitors loved because of the low prices.

At around three, you find yourself in the kitchen making another batch of fruit kolaches. Pretty Baked was doing well and you were excited, as were the teenagers manning the front for you with Gemma keeping a watchful eye over everyone coming and going.

Just as you placed three trays into the oven, there's a knock on the back door. You frown, heading towards it a bit warily, but the grinning face just outside the small tempered glass window makes you sigh and roll your eyes.

You push open the door, shaking your head. "You do know the front door works perfectly well, don't you?"

Jax steps in, shutting the door behind him and following you into the kitchen. "Yeah, but then I'd have to stay out there like a normal customer and not be able to keep you company back here."

"Aw. Such a charmer, Mr. Teller," you muse in your best southern accent. "I'm the one from the South. Aren't I supposed to be the one charming your pants off?"

"You tryin' to get me out of my pants, darlin'?" His eyes sparkle and you throw a dish towel at him when his words make you blush. He laughs.

"You're cute," you admit, shaking your head in amusement and sliding over a tray of done pastries for him to snack from. "But I know a losing battle when I see one."

"Losing battle?" His eyebrow arches, but his gaze is set on the pastries before he chooses an apple kolache.

"Mhm. From the couple of parties I've been invited to, courtesy of Gemma, those women- what do you call them, sweetbutts?- have all laid claim to the president." He scoffs, filling his mouth with food. "And let's not forget the ex who's been circling, pissing off your mom every other day."

Jax frowns as his eyes snap to you. "Tara? She botherin' you?"

"She's not bothering me," you tell him, chuckling softly. "I've just seen her around a couple of times out and about in Charming. She seems perfectly capable of checking her vehicle all on her own, but the second a kutte is within sight distance, she acts like an oblivious female who has no idea how to change a tire." You shrug. "Your mom saw it on one of our shopping excursions and called her out. There was a whole yelling match about old heartbreak and manipulative cunts."

"Jesus." Jax groans quietly. Then quickly collecting himself, he apologizes. "I'm so sorry you had to deal with their bullshit."

"Don't worry about it. I might not enjoy being dragged into drama, but I do love to watch it unfold. And your mother," you trail off, laughing. "She's the biggest shit stirrer I've ever met. I love it."

"You and my ma are going to be trouble, aren't 'ya?"

"Who, me?" You set your elbows on the metal tabletop, clasping your hands together and then setting your chin atop your clasped hands. Batting your eyelashes, you say, "But I'm just a lil' 'ol bakery owner from Texas. I don't got a mean bone in my body."

Jax snorts. "Bull. I heard how you southern women politely insult others by blessing their hearts or some shit."

You laugh and push off the table, heading to the sink to wash some dishes. "I'm still not getting into a catfight over you, Jackson. My fighting days are over."

"Yeah? We'll see about that."

His words make you freeze, and when you glance over your shoulder his smirk is enough to get your heart pounding.

Stupid Jax Teller and his pretty smile.

Over the next few months, Pretty Baked did excellent for being in such a small town such as Charming. In fact, it did so well that you were able to expand the shop's menu pretty early on, adding breakfast sandwiches, doughnuts, and bagels to it. People only had good things to say about your shop and work ethic that no one really said a word about you associating with the Sons of Anarchy. At least not to your face they didn't.

Surprisingly, Gemma became a constant fixture in your life. You got to know the Sons of Anarchy, most of whom you came to adore, and their clubhouse became a second home for Grimm and Reaper when you needed a dog sitter or one of the men wanted to hang out with your two beasts. You knew there was more to their motorcycle enthusiasts' schtick, but you never cared to figure out exactly what it was that they truly did. You got to hang out in their clubhouse, much to the sweetbutts' displeasure, and confuse the hell out of everyone when you and Jax would flirt but never take it any further than that.

Soon all anyone can talk about is the Taste of Charming, but you opt out of putting up your own booth since you wanted to enjoy the festivities before participating the following year. The various businesses around the small-town set up booths, either selling food or handmade goods to raise funds for their shops and/or the local schools. It was very family orientated, so you spoke to the Chamber of Commerce who was putting on the small festival to make sure it was okay to have your Great Danes with you. And after making sure they were well behaved and would be on leashes, they granted you your request.

After stuffing a backpack full of necessities for your dogs to look after them and pick up after them, you dress comfortably in a tank top and shorts, and drive out towards the center of town. And when you find parking, you clip on Grimm and Reaper's leashes, and take off exploring. Many people ooh and aww over your dogs, and you're very grateful that they're well behaved as strangers pet and ask to take pictures with them.

After you've explored and spent some cash at various booths, you find your way to the Teller-Morrow Automotive booth where Gemma is serving up bowls of chili.

"So this is the infamous chili I've been hearing about, huh?" You muse. You transfer both leashes into one hand, reaching over to grab a tortilla chip from Juice's plate to dip into his own bowl of chili. He squawks and you grin, tasting the chili for yourself. "Oh. That's good."

"Told you." You glance over at Gemma as she smirks. "Now do you wanna get your ass behind this booth and help out?"

"What do I do with Grimm and Reaper?"

"Hand them over, gorgeous. Uncle Tig wants some quality time with his nephews."

Laughing, you shake your head as the eccentric biker takes the leashes from your hand, proudly marching off with your dogs and Juice in tow. Then turning back to Gemma, you say, "Let me just wash up and then I'm all yours."

Since half the booths set up are selling food, there's been a portable washing station set up. You walk up to it, washing and sanitizing, and then putting on gloves so you can handle the food.

Gemma ends up taking a backseat to her own booth, filling up the bowls while you deal with the people. And with you at the front of the booth, it's a bit of a shock that more people stop by.

"Typical," Gemma scoffs when there's a lull in the crowd. "I serve the food and we just get our regulars who have no issues with the club. You serve and everyone suddenly flocks to the booth."

You grin at the moody woman. "At least the club is pulling in some cash. Maybe this time you can actually beat the Fire Department."

Gemma glances at the booth in question, sneering at the firefighters who are grilling it up next to the police department's booth. "Yeah. Maybe."

You chuckle and then get back to work when a couple more individuals walk up to try the chili.

"What are you doing working the booth?" You glance up at the question, smiling at Jax standing there in his kutte, white tee and jeans. "I thought you wanted to explore."

"I did and then I decided to try your mom's chili. She roped me in."

"She's good at getting people to do her bidding."

You shrug. "It's fine. Tig and Juice took the dogs off my hands, and I was happy to help." Jax steps aside as a customer walks up, watching you smile and talk to the customer as politely as possible. "Where's everyone else?" You ask once the customer has walked off with their food.

Jax leans against the booth, accepting a bowl of chili from Gemma before dropping a bill into the tips container. "Around. Bobby volunteered at the dunking booth to raise money for the school, so Chibs and Happy are spending their cash trying to dunk him." You laugh. "And Opie's around here somewhere with his wife and kids."

"And then there's lil' 'ol you walking around all on your lonesome," you tease.

"I wouldn't be alone if someone would abandon their duties to a certain booth and walk around with me."

"And leave Gem all on her lonesome?" You gasp. "Never."

"Jax, leave YN alone," Gemma says. "She's the only reason all these new people are approaching the booth. Go bother someone else."

He rolls his eyes, grinning all the while. "Whatever you say, ma." Then looking at you, he winks. "I'll come back for you later. Don't leave."

"Yeah, yeah." And before Jax can leave, you say, "Hey, can you do me a favor?"

"Sure."

"In my backpack, there are some collapsible bowls for Grimm and Reaper. Can you take them to Tig so he can give them water? I'm sure he's fed them anything he can get his hands on around here."

Jax chuckles. "Sure thing, darlin'."

After a couple more hours, the crowds start to thin when the sun dips in the sky and Gemma decides to call it a day. She has Half-Sack and Juice clean out the pots and utensils, and then has them dismantle the booth to stash away in the van while they continue to make their presence known around the festivities. Gemma sticks around Bobby as he counts the money the booth made, so Jax pulls you away to have a bit more fun. He tucks you under his arm so your arm closest to him slides around the back of his waist, and then the two of you are off browsing booths that are still standing.

There's a booth dedicated to the Elementary School that's selling friendship bracelets and other beaded bracelets that have different charms on them. The black beaded bracelets catch your attention, and you carefully peer at what charms the bracelets hold.

"Oh hey," you say when one bracelet catches your attention. "Look at the little skulls." You reach for the bracelet in question, stepping away from Jax so you can look for more. Every small bead on the bracelet is black, with the exception of a single white skull charm sitting in the middle. "I'm taking it."

Jax grins. "You a fan of skulls?"

"I'm a fan of lots of things," you tell him. There's another black beaded bracelet, but the single charm on this one is an iridescent lotus flower charm. You gasp in delight, excited when you find a second lotus flower bracelet so you can gift to Emma. Then grabbing a blue threaded friendship bracelet for Todd, you hand over the four bracelets to the booth attendant so you can purchase them.

"Seven dollars," the woman kindly tells you as she places the bracelets in a small paper bag.

And before you can reach into your pocket for the bit of cash you were carrying around, Jax hands over a ten dollar bill while grabbing your bracelets in return. "Keep the change, sweetheart."

The woman blushes as she stutters out a thank you, and then Jax is steering you away as he hands you the paper bag. You gently shove your elbow into his side, shaking your head at him. "You didn't have to do that, but thank you."

"Of course." He smirks down at you before once again you find yourself under his arm.

You walk around a bit more, buying candy apples for both yourself and Jax, and then Jax buying you a flower crown that has cascading multicolor ribbons that would go down your back from the florist booth. You spot Tig when you're walking around, happily chilling with your dogs still so you leave him be. And then when you make your way back to Gemma, she's looking far too smug while staring at the glowering members of the fire department.

"What's going on?" Jax asks.

Bobby looks up, chuckling. "Guess which booth just put an end to the fire department's reign of smugness?"

Jax laughs. "No way. We finally made more money than them?"

"Sure did," Gemma muses. "And we got our favorite little baker to thank for that."

You blush when she smirks at you, but before anything else can be said, someone's talking into a microphone atop a stage in the middle of all the festivities.

"Attention Charming residents," a man says, "this year, we decided to add a little more fun competition to the schedule and give out a little extra cash to the businesses who keep our little town on the map." Many people whoop and cheer. "It's a game of karaoke. Each booth vendor can send up one person to play for them and the winner will take home an extra five hundred dollars!"

As the people cheer, your jaw drops. "Holy shit."

"You can say that again," Bobby says.

"The karaoke game is a Finish the Lyrics game. We're going to play ten songs- songs that can be from any year or may be entirely from this year, no one knows except the one in control of the music- and the first to buzz in and sing at least ten seconds of the song gets a point towards whichever shop they're playing for."

"Fuck," Jax swears. "Who do we have that knows at least every genre of music?"

"There's Juice," Bobby grumbles. "He's into all this new age shit."

"Nah. He's into all that alternative shit. I doubt they'll play enough of it for him to pull out a win."

You chew on your bottom lip, not saying a word as you glance at the stage. Emma, the teenager who works for you at Pretty Baked, is standing behind a laptop and tapping keys here and there. When she glances up, she meets your gaze and smirks. She winks and then gestures to the microphone stands being set up on stage, conveying she thinks that you should play. You sigh and then glance back at Gemma and Jax who are still conversing about the extra cash when some of the boys from the fire department and police department pass by, knocking their shoulder into Bobby.

"Better luck next time, biker trash." Someone from the fire department sneers.

"Looks like we're gonna surpass your shitty little auto club again with this win," another one says.

Jax lunges for the fireman, but suddenly Happy and Chibs appear out of nowhere, catching him. The men from the fire department and police department laugh, heading for the stage.

"Are these the only participants joining us up here?" The man in charge of the game says. There's only three contestants standing around- one from the PD, one from the FD, and a teen girl from the florists booth.

You catch Emma's eye again and she gestures to the contestants, widening her eyes to urge you to play. You close your eyes, raising a hand as you shout, "I'm in!"

To be continued..

[sehodreams]

Sungchan x plus size!reader

Tw: I don't know, if you see anything please let me now in comments.

Tags: fluff, inexperienced reader, just kisses and him wanting to give you stuff and have you around, older reader (by 2 years).

When we met i was still a student, i had decided to take that subject on my last year instead of the second and never, ever, had i thought that decision would take me here now.

He was 21 and I was 23, did it bother me? A bit to be honest, would things be different if we were the same age? Doubt it.

Now I was 26, with my first big corporate job, and he was still a student.

I have no idea how did all start, well no, I know exactly how did it start, but I mean, I don't know how we connected, we had no way of having a real conversation, all happened so fast.

I was reading a book in the library, it was just a novel I saw lying around in my room that I had no memory of buying, I took it to distract myself from all the stress of trying to find a decent internship. I was reading it in complety silence when he came to me.

"Sorry, is this seat taken?" He asked me with his big and bright eyes.

I looked up to him, a fucking tower looking at me with his bambi eyes. I said no with a shake of head and then continue reading. He sat in front of me and opened the book we were currently studying in class. We were on our own thing for a good time before he decided to talk again. He coughed to catch my attention.

"Sorry, it's just... I was wondering if you could help me with this..." he showed me his notes, I read them and then explain what I had understood from class, then I pulled out my notes and showed them to him. "You can copy this part if you want, to remember it"

He smiled and nodded, he finished and gave me my notebook back. "Thank you, I've been having problems with this subject" he said a bit shyly, he was talking to me in a really respectful way, sure he knew I was older, but that seemed cute to me.

"No problem, you can ask if you need help, is nothing to be embarrassed for, something I learned after so much time is that asking doesn't cost anything, and even if you feel like a fool, people won't really care" when I finished talking I felt like an old man giving advice and wished i hadn't said so much on my insides. He smiled and laughed softly, his shoulders where tense and he couldn't maintain eye contact with me. I didn't want to make him uncomfortable so I continued with my book.

"If you don't mind, maybe could I buy you a coffee for your help?" He offered after a few minutes in silence.

I looked at him and laughed softly "it's okay, you don't have to"

He looked at me a bit embarrassed because i didn't accept his offer and I felt bad for him.

"Uhmm, but I wouldn't mind a coke from the machine" I said after a few seconds.

His face was bright again and nodded. I grabbed my stuff and walked with him to the machines out of the library.

He bought me can of coke and while I was waiting I bought some chips.

"Oh, I should've bought that for you" he said, giving me my drink.

I looked at him "Oh honey, if you continue to buy stuff for people just for little favors you'll end up broke" I laughed. He denied with a smile. "See you later, I have class on the other side of the campus" I smiled "thank you for the coke"

I went to my class and didn't think much of the interaction. Actually, I had already forgotten when we met again. I was on my seat waiting for my friend when he arrived and sat on my other side.

"Good morning" he said softly to not bother me. "Oh, hey" I said back, not knowing what else to say. I was scrolling on my phone to kill time, watching my old classmates do better than me in everything, they had jobs, lovers, traveled around the world, and I was just there, still going to school and without a job.

"Sunbae?" I was in trance and looked back to him.

"Oh sorry, didn't hear you, could you repeat what you said?" I asked.

"Oh, I was just asking if you were going to the gathering they'll have today, I know it's mostly first and second years, but your friend said she was going so I was wondering if you would too." He was blabbering at this point and I didn't know how to stop him.

"Oh, not really, they told me but I don't think you guys will be comfortable with an old geezer" I laughed dryly.

"Don't say that, you're not an old geezer" he was quickly to answer.

I got surprised at his tone and laughed.

"I'll think about it" I concluded and continued watching my phone.

Class ended like usual and I went to the cafeteria with my friend.

"Please come today, there are too many boys this year and one more girl would be great, we need to check they're not making the girls feel uncomfortable" she begged. I wanted to say no because I had better things than go and get drunk with a bunch of kids, but the last part got me and I remembered my seniors also going to those gatherings to check on us. I was weak to old memories. "Yeah you're right, but that means I won't drink too much, and you also shouldn't" she smiled and nodded eagerly.

We went to a cabin near the campus, usually used to first year welcomes. Everyone was already there when we arrived, tons of alcohol of all kind and a bunch of boys. It was clear the difference between men and women and I was glad I was there to put a stop in case anything went out of control. I was a girl too, but being older gave me a voice they couldn't ignore.

A group of girls came to me relieved and sat around me to drink comfortably. We were playing all those silly games and they let me drink less with the excuse of taking my fake medication.

It was 3 am when most of them seemed to pass out. Me and Sungchan moved the boys and girls to different rooms so they could sleep well. I decided to not sleep and be alert, I was sitting in what would be considered the living room in a sofa, looking at my phone. He came and sat beside me with a couple of ice creams after some time.

"Would you like an ice cream?" He asked me with a smile. I grabbed the one he was offering me.

"Thanks, can't sleep?" I was eating it comfortable, it was summer and it was perfect to refresh me.

"Yes, it's too hot in the shared room" he laughed, he looked pretty alive to me even after drinking all night. "And you? Why aren't you with the others?" He asked curiously.

"Just checking the boys stay in their room, want to make sure the girls are safe" I said still eating my ice cream, not thinking much of it.

"Sunbaenim, you're still a girl, even if you're older, you're protecting them, but who is protecting you?" He looked angry and then in shock for talking to me so boldly. "I'm sorry, it's just... you need to think about you too"

I was lost of words at his tone.

"It's okay, no one looks at me that way" to be honest I had never been approached in a romantic way by anyone, and I wasn't ugly, I felt pretty, I had my own comfortable style, I liked to wear cute accessories and I loved wearing my light makeup that enhanced my features. I liked how I looked, I was bigger but I found my own sense of style and felt good on my clothes, it took me time after dealing with self-steem problems in high-school, but when I ditched the uniform and tried clothes I really liked, I found myself smiling at my reflection. I liked my big chest and my flat butt, I liked my soft tummy and my chubby legs, I just liked me, and at first it was hard not being seen by anyone as a love interest, but everyone had their own type and I couldn't judge others for not liking me, so after a long time I just sighed and concentrated on me being happy with my own company.

"Why do you say that?" He was serious.

"Uhmm, men just don't like me, I don't know why, I guess that's why I'm not afraid, but I've seen guys be intense with my friends so I like to make sure the other girls are okay, one never knows"

He was looking at me with an indescribable face, a combination of seriousness, anger and disappointment.

A tension came in the silence and he was looking at the bunch of empty beer cans on one side and I was looking at my ice cream package as if it was the most interesting thing I had ever seen, reading the ingredients like it was my job.

We were sitting shoulder to shoulder. At first there was a certain distance between us but after he accommodated himself on the little couch we were touching each other.

"What do you think about me? Don't you feel uncomfortable with me here? I'm a man too" he said after a long time, we both had finished our ice creams and I was reading a book in my phone. I looked over at him.

"Why are you asking that?" I said confused.

He looked at me directly in the eyes, then his eyes went down to my mouth and back to my eyes.

He didn't ask for permission, the shy and modest boy I met kissed me, softly at first, nervous, but then he grabbed me by the neck and made sure I wouldn't get away from his lips. It felt good, I couldn't deny it, it felt fucking good.

I was still relaxed from the couple of beers I had, but I was conscious of everything and couldn't deny the kiss.

"You have no idea of all the things I want to do to you" he said after a couple minutes kissing. I was stiff, not knowing what to say. It wasn't my first kiss, but it felt completely different. My body was suddenly incredibly hot and I just wanted to continue with our make-out session. I looked at him in the eyes, I have no idea what did my face look like at that moment, but he kissed me again with force, with more passion, his mouth tasted like strawberry ice cream and while one of his hands was on my neck the other was on my waist, pulling me closer to him.

That was our first kiss, when everyone else was sleeping in the rooms next to us. After that we continued kissing and making out in secret, sometimes in my apartment, sometimes in his, but we were almost never out there as a couple the first month. No one saw it coming when we were revealed. He was exhausted of us being a secret and left little clues around. Giving me snacks in class, waiting for me out of my classroom, following me around like a little puppy, a big and smiley puppy.

Now? Now we were living together in a slightly bigger apartment, kissing every day, with him still following me around like a puppy.

[weixuldo]

Unconditionally Ch 21 (pt 2)

Anakin X Reader

(I really cannot explain how much this story has meant to me, It may be a silly little AU about a space dad with lots of baggage, but its really been an outlet for me this semester. Whenever I get time (which has been coming less and less) I love to sit down and envelop myself in this world I created. I want to thank you all once more for sticking with me and for your support :) more notes will be at the end and I hope you enjoy!)

NSFW

It’s official. You are now a Skywalker :)

Warnings: smut, blowjobs, fingering, alcohol, cursing, sex, depiction of injury? did i mention sex?

___________________________________

The audience cheered as you kissed your new husband; waves of endorphins coursed through your system. This was truly the best day of your life. 

You turned to face the crowd with a smile happily on your face; you were still holding one of Anakin’s stiff hands as he started to walk. Surprised, you turned to look at him. The two of you planned only for him to do the vows standing. You didn’t think he would be able to walk at the wedding. His face was focused but he still gave you an assuring smile. 

Shakily, he made his way down the aisle with you supporting him from your side. The procession went slowly due to his noticeable limp, but you were just so shocked he was even doing it. You thought that he wasn’t making much progress in physio, especially after the surgery. 

With a wide smile you turned to face him and asked, “Ani, how?”

He huffed out a laugh as he continued forward, “surprise..” 

“Are you, ok? Does it hurt at all?”

He shut his eyes and shook his head, “No, it's ok. Just takes a bit of effort, but you're worth every ounce. I wanted to walk you down the aisle Y/N”

You squeezed his upper arm with a smile and continued towards the end of the path. With each step you were more and more proud of how well he was doing.

_____________________________________

The two of you planned, after the ceremony, you would get some time together to reflect before going to the reception.

You entered the private room with Anakin trailing behind you; their room was a decent size and decorated beautifully. The windows were frosted for privacy and there was a plush sofa in the middle of the room. Anakin placed a stiff hand on the small of your back, a feeling you rather enjoyed.

“This is nice, I’m glad we arranged to have some time together,” he said, walking towards the couch. His gait was a little less noticeable than when he started down the aisle (he probably just needed some time to adjust); though, it obviously wasn’t perfectly natural. 

“I wish you would have told me..’ you began as you gathered your gown to join him on the couch. 

“I wanted to surprise you…are you upset?” his eyes became unsure as he gazed upon your glowing face. 

“Of course not Ani, I’m so incredibly proud of you! I just wish I had known so I could have celebrated this milestone with you”

His expression relaxed and a soft smile graced his beautiful face; smile lines wrinkling at the ends of his blue eyes. He didn’t speak, instead, he gently pulled you closer to him; sometimes you didn’t need words to communicate with Anakin. That was something you loved about the two of you. 

As you laid on his chest listening to his breathing– which was never fully restored to its full capabilities after the accident– your mind began to replay your relationship with him.

The anxiety you felt when you first came upon his huge house, walking up the marble steps, and meeting him for the first time. He was so intimidating, arrogant, and rude… but oh, was he handsome… You knew he still held some insecurities about his looks and disabilities– he worried that you missed or liked his body (and him) better when he was more physically capable. That notion couldn’t be further from the truth. You adored him for who he was and adored every part of him- no matter the body he inhibited.

You thought back to how bad he was at communicating feelings to you at the beginning and just how out of practice he was. If you were being honest, he was a huge dick. But now knowing how you ended up, you were glad you stuck around.

You remembered the slack-jawed look he gave you that time he called you in unexpectedly and you came in that little green dress. He was in awe. A small laugh escaped your lips as you nuzzled further into your lover. 

“What’s gotten you so giddy, hmm?”

“Oh, nothing. Just reminiscing on your wonderful attitude when we first started out”

A harsh blush crept its way onto his cheeks, “oh…”

“You know, I actually debating quitting because I thought you hated me that much”

He huffed and for a moment you thought he was upset. 

“Quite the contrary, Y/N”

Butterflies fluttered in your stomach as he guided you to sit on his lap and face him. Under the layers of the dress you felt the fabric of his dress pants against your thighs. His eyes were intense and glistening with a familiar gleam…one you craved.

“Ani..”

“If they didn’t know any better, they’d probably think we’re fucking” his low register sent shivers down your spine.

You gave him an enchanting stare, “well…that could be arranged” you whispered as you leaned in to nip at his ear.

Arousal pooled in your stomach as you listened to his breath hitch and the beautiful sounds he emitted as you grazed over the ever growing bulge right beneath you. You shivered as his stiff appendages traveled up your sides; one of his mechanical hands rested itself on the back of your neck, deepening the kiss. 

He slid his tongue into your mouth and gently bit your lip as you pulled away. You slowly moved your hips back and forth on his clothed thigh, the slickness in your underwear became all the more apparent. 

“Oh Anakin” you gasped as he brought his better functioning hand towards your front and squeezed one of your breasts as best as he could. Over time you had grown accustomed to his robotic touch, you liked the way the strong appendages slowly gripped around you.

The outline of his cock was extremely close to your clothed pussy. Just to be a tease, you grinded on him; the noise that escaped his throat was exhillerating.

“I’m all yours now Anakin. All yours…” You cooed, slowly palming him over his pants.

Something in him changed when you referred to yourself as “his” because his abs tensed and his hips bucked up. 

“Mmhph! Ahh ahh” he stifled his moans as you quickened your pace, even opting to dive into his pants, below the waistband of his boxers. 

His head flung back as you grazed over his tip, already wet with pre-cum. You didn’t even have to see it to know that it was definitely a blushing red and that the vein on the bottom side was bulging. As you ran your hands up and down his shaft, you could feel it throbbing and pulsing. For you.

He pressed a stiff hand on your shoulder to pull your attention to his face, “Y/N, If you continue doing t-that… I’m gonna..” He took a moment to take in a deep breath, “And I don’t wanna stain m-my..”

You slid yourself off of his lap and he shivered at the cool air against his warm member. Deviously, you lowered yourself onto your knees and leaned into his thighs, a polished hand on both of his legs. 

“Good thing we have an extra suit for the reception” you smiled.

Before he could register and agree, you had sucked him down so far that all he could do was moan. His upper thighs tensed with every bob of your head. 

Ambitiously, you took all of him in your mouth, your nose met his naval; one of your hands gripped his side and one, the upper part of his thigh where his prosthetic stopped. So many beautiful noises escaped his mouth, you were amused by his feeble attempts of stifling them. 

You came back up with a long drag of your tongue against his shaft. You met his face and smiled as he panted with the neediest look you had ever seen. 

“Y-y/n…” he stuttered out.

“Yes, my love?” you deviously inquired.

“Y-you’re crazy”

Instead of answering him, you ran your hands through his hair and pulled him into a passionate kiss. 

“Hey-” a sudden knock on the door startled both of you.

“Just wanted to let you know, the reception is starting in 45 minutes” the voice, which you recognized as Ahsoka, informed.

You slid a quick hand down to finish Anakin off. He jolted and tried to stop the guttural moan from leaving his mouth.

“Ok! We’ll be there soon!”

With one flick of your wrist, Anakin was cumming all over himself and your hand. His eyes rolled back and he tossed his head back, so you placed a gentle yet firm hand over his mouth. 

“Thank you Ahsoka”

“No worries Sky gal! Can't wait to see your reception dress!”

Oh shit…

You forgot you had to change…

Your dress was pretty intricate; you would need help undressing and unbinding the laces but you didn’t know if Anakin would be able to help you.

When the coast was clear, you shifted off of his lap. He was gasping and you quickly fetched his inhaler. He took a few puffs and released a long exhale before turning to you.

“What the… fuck has gotten.. In to you?” he panted with a mesmerized look on his face.

You shrugged with a smirk and he joined with a laugh. 

“We should probably get ready for the reception- I didn’t even realize how long we were in here.” You said, beginning to take off your dress until you would need Anakin’s help. 

He glanced at the clock on the wall, “oh shit- yea we should” he exclaimed as he began to haul himself off the couch. 

Before you could even ask, Anakin was already attempting to pull at the ribbons that laced up your dress, much to your surprise he was able to undo the ribbons fairly easily. You thanked him with a sweet peck on the lips before you began to help him out of his, now, cum stained suit. 

Quickly, you helped him into the reception suit- he rested his mechanical forearms on your shoulders as you pulled his pants over his artificial legs. Soon you slipped on the shorter, more party-style dress and fixed up your makeup. 

________________________________________

The reception hall was dimly lit, the warm glow of the candlelit centerpieces scattered around the venue; you made sure it was wheelchair accessible, with ramps and accommodations for Anakin's mobility. Many people mingled and shared small conversations. Anakin definitely spared no expense while planning the wedding; five star catering, an exclusive venue, quality decor, and live orchestral music, plus a band and DJ for later on in the night (more-so for you and your friends, you were quite a bit younger than him after all). 

“The reception is supposed to start in less than three minutes, do they want to miss their own celebration?” Ben said, looking at his watch, before taking a sip of the champagne in his hand. 

“Yea, well I have a feeling they were celebrating in a different way” Ahsoka quipped as she gulped down her drink.

“Oh. How…them” Ben chuckled.

Soon the doors of the venue hall were opened and you walked in with Anakin by your side, a large smile plastered on your face. You were so overjoyed that you were married and excited by all of your guests, that you didn’t even notice all Anakin was looking at was you.

How he admired you…. His beautiful Y/N. 

The crowd cheered as you led Anakin to the center of the ballroom, seamlessly the ambient music changed into an orchestral version of the song the two of you chose. He placed a gentle hand on your waist and the other grabbed your hand as he started to sway with you; his blue eyes still so vibrant even in the dim lighting.

“Are you sure you can-” you whispered.

He nodded and calmed your worries, “Don’t worry my love, I’ve been practicing”.

You smiled and stepped closer to him as the music swelled. His dancing may not have been the most agile, but the familiar movements warmed your heart. All you cared about in this moment was that you were his and he was yours. 

Before you knew it the crowd was clapping and Anakin tilted your chin up with his hand to draw you in for a passionate kiss.

_______________________________________

The dinner and speeches went well; many friends and family members spoke, though the sweetest one was Luke and Leia’s. They explained how excited they were that you were marrying their father and how long they had wanted to call you “mom”; honestly, they had you tearing up.

The night went on, lots of congratulations and more celebration. You walked off of the dance floor to look for your husband. Across the room you spotted him at the bar talking to some old friends; he was seated in his wheelchair once again and his suit coat had been discarded, leaving him just in his white button down.

You waited a moment before the band of guys saw you looking over; once you had been spotted, there was no stopping the group of buzzed men from calling you to come and join.

“Hey Hey, Y/N! It’s nice to finally meet ‘cha” A very drunk man exclaimed, extending a hand for a very firm handshake. 

“Hello!” you smiled, slightly confused. 

Anakin picked up on your confusion and butted in, “Are you going to introduce yourself or just be some random guy shaking her hand?” he said in a joking tone.

“OhhHH! I’m Rex! How ya doin’ miss?” he said, making a motion like he was tilting a cowboy hat, to which you laughed. 

“Hi Rex” you giggled.

“You’ve gotta be a pretty special little lady to make this hard-ass soften up haha” Rex laughed, patting Anakin on the back.

Normally if anyone else dared touch him, he would have flipped out and gotten very agitated, but you could tell he was comfortable with this guy. Soon, Ahsoka stumbled up to you and gave you a very uncoordinated hug. 

“y/nnnn! T-this is my favoriteee right h-hereee” she smiled hanging off of you.

“Haha, Hello to you too Ahsoka” you smiled, supporting her weight with your shoulder.

She blinked hard and once she opened her eyes again. It looked as if she were completely sober, “Anakin. I know I’ve known yo longer, but if you EVER fuck around with y/n. You will be facing me. She’s a good one, don’t mess it up.” 

And just like that, she was right back to slurring her words; thankfully Ben stepped in and took her to sit in the less crowded part of the room, “Come-come Ahsoka, why don’t we sit you down? Maybe we should be done drinking for the night, hmm?”

You turned to face the group once more, but found only Anakin remained. 

“Hey” he spoke sweetly as he gently took one of your hands into his.

“Hi” you smiled back at him.

_______________________________________

The party raged on into the early hours of the morning, older business associates of Ben and Anakin stumbled around just like your college age friends. Seems everyone had a good time. Anakin actually had not drunk much at all and you were pretty sober too. As the last few people trickled out and said their goodbyes, you walked over to where Anakin had seated himself; your heels discarded long ago. 

“I think that was the last couple” you said, leaning down to kiss him.

“Now I can finally enjoy my wife in peace,” he teased with a grin.

“Well, I’m not quite tired enough to go to sleep and, I mean, we do need to consummate this…” you said, looking away and twirling your hair.

He exhaled and shook his head, “I love you so much Y/N”.

You smiled and gave him a wink as you went to fetch Ben and the kids to tell them the party was over. Earlier on in the night you laid the twins down to sleep in a secluded room further back in the hall, so that they wouldn’t be grumpy in the morning. After taking care of Ahsoka, Ben retired to that room to sleep as well, (Ahsoka being drunk was like taking care of the twins times 5). It worked out well though, The kids were going to spend the night with their uncle Ben or Auntie Ash.

After getting everything straightened out, you and Anakin finally headed back to the house. The drive back was the longest ride you had ever taken, the tension in the back was so thick, the desire burning in your chest. You needed him.

Instead of spending extra, the two of you decided to forgo the “honeymoon suite” and just “do it” at the house; not only was it cheaper, but it had all of Anakin’s supplies already available.

Once the two of you closed the door to the mansion, you were on his lap. Your legs handing over his arm rests and your hands in his sandy hair. The pristine walls echoed with your desire, every breath, every sigh, every moan… you could hear it all.

You loved the feeling of his stiff hands as they caressed your sides and his tongue down your throat. He still had his prosthetics on and you could feel the solid joint of his titanium knee pressing into your ass. 

As you kissed him, the fact that his white button down was still on, became a nuisance to you; quickly, with swift and calculated motions, you undid each button and revealed his bare chest to you. He was absolutely magnificent, his core never really diminished even when he was bed-ridden in the beginning, it always remained a pretty prominent structure of his. Your eyes traced down his skin, mapping every dent and beauty mark on his spacious chest. God he was beautiful.

“Like what you see?” he breathed out, slightly wiping his bottom lip. 

All you could do was nod.

“Let me see you” he asked in a gentle, yet demanding tone…and of course you complied. 

You turned away from his chair and began to take off the thin silky dress you were wearing: skin collecting goosebumps from the cool air hitting your skin. Left in your lacy bra and panties, you turned back to see Anakin not in his chair, rather, he was standing at his full height; a forearm resting on the doorframe to the next room. 

His piercing blue eyes wandered up and down your body hungrily as his breath became deeper. 

“You’re perfect Y/N” 

You blushed and walked towards your lover. 

“You’re not too bad yourself” you smirked, pulling him down for a kiss; your mouth filled with the fresh taste of the mint gum he had been chewing earlier in the night. 

You shuddered as one of his cool hands was placed at the small of your back. He deepened the kiss, using more tongue than the last time, before pulling away with a moan.

“We should take this to the room,” he said, pulling at the strap of your panties. 

You could feel your arousal pooling and sliding against your folds as he tugged at your bottoms.

“Please Ani” you whimpered as you palmed his cock through his pants, causing his eyes to roll back as he exhaled a beautiful moan. 

Soon the two of you busted through the doors to your room; you had unzipped Anakin’s trousers and his prominent bulge was on full display through his black boxers; beads of pre-cum dampening a small circle in the front. Once you reached the bed, he lightly pushed you down onto your back as he positioned himself in between your legs. 

“Ani?” you panted, curious as to what he was doing. 

Before you knew it, he had lowered himself so that his face was right at your entrance. He gently slid your lacy panties off with his teeth and returned to kiss your clit. You shivered at the sudden contact of his warm mouth; he placed his mechanical hands on both of your thighs and squeezed, causing you to throw your head back. 

He began slowly, short licks and little kisses, but as your noises became more desperate he sped up. His skilled tongue was lapping at you as if you were the last thing he would ever eat. 

“T-that f-feelss..” You could barely string your words together and your legs were quivering.

He ceased his work only to meet your eyes, “You taste so good, Y/N” he panted in a deep voice.

Quickly he went back to work, swirling his tongue around your sweet bud. You gasped as you felt something entering you, one of his mechanical fingers; fuckkk, the way it rhythmically curled felt euphoric.

“Oh my God Anakin!” you moaned as you felt his digits swirling inside of you as he marked your stomach with his teeth.

“I-I’m gonna.. I” you stammered as you felt the tight knot in your lower stomach burst and you saw a galaxy of stars. The sound that escaped you could only be explained as ethereal. 

As you let the feeling wash over you, he stood himself up and sat on the edge of bed, panting. You heard his labored breathing and worried he overexerted himself.

“Ani? Are you-” you began as you sat up to attend to him, though, before you could finish you looked down to see that you weren't the only one who came from that ordeal. His stomach flexed as the last few waves of his orgasm shot through him and you blushed.

You wrapped your arms around him and the two of you sat there for a moment before he stood to take his underwear off. As he stood before you, you took a moment to take in his beauty, every scar, every scrape, every part of him told the story of the man you loved.

He fumbled with the waistband, so you swooped in to peel away his cum-stained boxers; he whimpered when they brushed over his semi-hard member. You stood and met his gaze, the two of you exchanging a knowing look. Soon you were back on the bed with your legs wrapped around his waist as he thrusted himself in and out of you. 

The sounds of your combined moans ricochet off of the walls and the headboard of the bed thumped against the wall. This was the first time he had fucked you with his prosthetics on, a part of you worried about them rubbing too roughly against his stumps, but he assured you he was ok. This was also the first time since before the accident (so over half a year) that he had been on top; you forgot how good he was with his hips. 

He fucked you with such vigor and passion that it had tears brimming at the corners of your eyes. He had taken off his left arm so he could feel you with his own, a sensation that made the experience all the better for him. As he used his mechanical knees as leverage, he buried himself so deep inside of you causing his eyes to roll back.

He laid his head in the crook of your neck and nipped at your ear, “I-I don’t…think..I-I” he cut himself off with a sharp breath as his tip kissed your cervix. 

“L-last much l..ong-ger” he stuttered as his hips bucked wildly. 

His warm body felt so good on top of you and his dick was definitely hitting all the right spots and as much as you wanted more, you were close too. So in one calculated motion, you pulled him towards you by the back of his neck and begged “I want you to cum for me”. 

And he did. 

With one last thrust from his hips his warm cum filled you up. The feeling was indescribable, you felt as if you had been transported to another world. Truly, that was the best sex you had ever shared with him; perhaps it is because it was your first as husband and wife, but damn, was that amazing. 

You knew he was getting overstimulated by the way his jaw clenched and his brows knitted together. So you helped him gently ease himself out of you and laid him on his back. His chest rose and fell rapidly so you fetched his inhaler and administered it to him. Once his breathing evened he opened his blue eyes and looked at you. 

“My beautiful wife, My Y/N” he said with a raspy voice as he brushed the side of your flushed cheek. 

In return, you smiled at him and began to take off his prosthetics. Once you cleaned up and got everything situated you joined him in bed. It was now around 4 am, so you decided the shower could wait until “later in the morning”. 

As you nestled up beside Anakin in your large bed, he turned to give you a sweet kiss on your forehead. You returned the gesture by tilting to kiss him on the lips with a smile. 

The sounds of your breathing and the fan were the only noises in the room as the two of you began to drift to sleep. You ran your hand down his chest until you felt his necklace you had gotten for Christmas. You ran your thumb over the dates on the back.

“1..2..” you counted in your head as you logged the dates you had engraved, but what surprised you was a third. Quickly you sat up which made Anakin ask what was wrong.

“Can I turn on the light real quick?” you asked, already reaching for the lamp.

“Yea, what's wrong darling?” he said, blinking open his tired eyes.

You reached for his necklace once more and saw the third date shimmering on his gold pendant, your birthday. Once you met his eyes again, he had a contemptuous smile on his face.

“You’ll always be in my heart” was all he said before you clicked off the light again and engulfed him in a loving embrace. 

You never expected him to etch your date into the gift you got him all that time ago… but he did. 

As the two of you drifted off to sleep your heart was filled with nothing but love and joy. 

Anakin was it, the last man you would be with.

The only man you would love,

Unconditionally. 

***

a/n: Woooooww! I just want to say, thank you all so much for following my story, I never in a million years would have ever thought my writing would even be read at all haha. I truly do love this story and hope to write ones of its caliber and better in the future. I’ll make a post about the status of the other fics and upcoming ones hehe. Also I am planning to do an epilogue for this story in the future, if anyone would be interested :)

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Taglist:  @katsukiswrld , @wtf-andys , @angeelcoree , @jetiikote , @khaleesihavilliard , @sxoulchvn, @sakura-amethyst, @dottodottoo , @vader-is-hot , @circuloctm , @jellydodger , @shadowheads-shitshow

[pinkskytwst]

MAKING A STAND: Part III

Yandere!First Years/Prefect Romantic Poly, Grim/Prefect Platonic

Alright, everyone, I hope you all like this and that it's decent enough for the end of this little trilogy. Tell me what you think! XD I had fun imagining some of their older looks.

==================

“Deuce, wait a moment.” The prefect giggled, tugging on their lover’s sleeve until the Heartslabyul Vice-Housewarden stopped from his frantic search of his Astrology textbook.

They maneuvered him better so they could reach his hair. The long, midnight blue locks had started to fall from the haphazard ponytail he had tugged it into.

“Really, why do you keep it so long when you barely do anything with it?” they teased playfully as they ran their fingers through the silky locks that nearly reached the middle of the other’s back now and began pulling it up into a neater tail to keep it out of the way.

Deuce couldn’t help but smile back just as playfully as he reveled in the feeling.

“I like when you run your fingers through it.” He admitted, managing not to blush this time.

He had gotten a little better at that over the three years at NRC, though his eyes still sparkled just as bright when the Prefect laughed in returned and gave him a light kiss on the corner of his mouth.

“Well, you’re going to have to learn how to keep it tidy without me during your internship.” They warned fondly. “I doubt the Queendom’s guardsmen will allow me to just show up every morning to do it for you.”

Deuce pouted at little at that, looping his arms around their waist to pull them closer and rest his forehead against theirs.

“I wish you could come with me.” He admitted.

“Oi what about me!?” Ace’s voice interrupted as he entered the Ramshackle kitchen.

Deuce rolled is eyes. “Internship will be a vacation away from you.” He shot back to his Housewarden. “I might actually get some real sleep.”

The red head’s grin shifted to a devious smirk as draped himself over his shoulders.

“Oh? I thought you rather liked me keeping you awake.” He teased, causing the Prefect to giggle into Deuce’s chest when the blue haired young man instantly flustered and tried to elbow their lover.

“YOU SNORE!” he insisted, glaring when the red head just danced away with a laugh and sauntered over to the breakfast table where the food was already set out.

He dropped down into one of the chairs and began filling a plate for himself, making sure to put some on the plate beside him so that the Prefect wouldn’t get distracted and skip eating.

“So where are the others?” he asked, looking over his shoulder at the still blushing top ranked student and the giggling Prefect that was trying to soothe him and usher him into a chair to eat as well.

“They are on their way.” The Prefect smiled brightly, bustling around to get some drinks for everyone. “Epel is getting ready for morning practice and Howl should be back soon from his rounds.” They explained. “Sebek had to return to Diasomnia to check on things and Tsunotarou said he would be mirror calling to see how he was doing. It was a while ago, though, since he had to leave before even Jack because of the time difference. He should-“

“MY LOVES I HAVE RETURNED! I HAVE NEWS FROM WAKA-SAMA THAT I KNOW YOU WILL ALL BE EXCITED TO HEAR!” came the bellow from the entrance as the door to Ramshackle was thrown open.

“-be arriving soon.” They chuckled.

Ace snorted and Deuce couldn’t help but smile fondly as their tallest lover came bounding into the kitchen with all the energy of an eager puppy despite his size.

“Welcome back, Sebek.” The prefect greeted him with a smile, leaning up on their toes to place a kiss on his cheek that he eagerly returned with one of his own.

It was swiftly followed by him bending down to press one against Ace’s temple and then meeting Deuce for a quick one on the lips.

“WHERE ARE EPEL AND JACK!?” he asked. “I HAVE IMPORTANT INFORMATION FROM WAKA-SAMA TO IMPART!”

“What, did he tell you about a new cloak he bought?” Ace teased.

“NAY! WELL, YES, BUT THAT IS NOT WHAT IS IMPORTANT IN THIS INSTANCE! OF COURSE, ALL OF WAKA-SAMA’S NEWS IS IMPORTANT BUT THIS IS DOUBLY SO!”

“Oi! Lizard, you can stop yelling.” Grim yawned as he was draped over Epel’s shoulder as the Pomefiore Housewarden was making his way down the stairs.

“I AM NOT A LIZARD!”

The Prefect covered their giggles and moved to pick up their partner from his perch. It was impossible to continue to hide them, however, when Epel slipped his arm around their waist and tugged them into a hungry kiss. He always got a little more excited when he was going to have a chance to play Magift, even if it was only practice.

“FUNGYA! Stop doing that when they’re holding me! Gross!” Grim complained, pushing against Epel’s jersey.

“Then walk on your own.” Epel said pointedly, sticking out his tongue and causing the violet stud there to glint a little.

It matched the others that he had, his left ear almost completely taken up now by elegant rings and studs that his lovers had given him at different occasions during their time together.

“A boss never walks when they have a henchman to carry them!” Grim shot back.

Epel snorted and stole another kiss from the Prefect before doing the same to the others.

“How do you think the team’s shaping up?” Ace asked from a muffled, full mouth.

Epel dropped down on his other side and began filling his own plate.

“Pretty good. The dorm teams are all looking decent and the school team is much better than last year. Asim I & II are much better on a broom than most of the other first years. I think they’ll train up into a couple of good chargers.”

“Have they still not told you which of them is which?” Ace chuckled, the twins that had been put in Savanaclaw were pretty hilarious in his opinion.

“Oh they have, but they keep switching on me, I’m pretty sure.” Epel shrugged as he added a few more of the odd sausages from Briar Valley that Sebek always brought back from home onto his plate. “So I just call them one and two and whoever answers is that one for the day.

Sebek frowned. “THAT IS NOT A PROPER WAY TO GO ABOUT BEING A MEMBER OF A TEAM! ONE MUST BE HONEST WITH THEIR LEADER!”

“Not everyone can tell their Commander with a straight face that they request a reschedule because you plan on fucking your boyfriend silly for his birthday.” Epel drawled, his accent warming his words.

The half-fae stammered, flushing darkly. “IT WAS IMPORTANT FOR THEM TO KNOW I WAS NOT SIMPLY SHIRKING MY DUTIES! LILIA-SAMA EVEN GAVE HIS BEST WISHES FOR MY ENDEAVOR!”

Ace was cackling into his eggs at the memory of that conversation while Deuce flushed to his roots – having been the aforementioned boyfriend they was going to ‘fuck silly’.

“I will never be able to face Vanrouge-senpai again.” He lamented, running a hand down his face.

“THERE IS NO REASON TO BE EMBARRASSED! THE NIGHT WAS A SUCCESS AND VERY ENJOYABLE! YOU SAID SO YOURSELF THAT WE PROVIDED A PLEASUREABLE CELEBRATION!”

Deuce hid his face as Ace continued cackling to the point that he almost choked.

Grim scrunched his nose and filled his plate with a bit of help from the Prefect until it was a mountain of food.

“You are the worst roommates.” He complained. “I had to go to Heartslabyul just to get away from all your screaming.”

“WE ARE NOT THAT LOUD!”

The monster just gave the half-fae a look and didn’t bother answering.

The Prefect patted Deuce’s back comfortingly and offered Sebek a fond but rather embarrassed smile of their own.

“Why don’t you start eating until Jack returns and then you can tell us of your important news?” they suggested trying to change the subject to less blush-inducing topics.

“VERY GOOD SUGGESTION MY LOVE!” he declared, moving to take one of the free chairs and started gathering his own food.

The Prefect smiled warmly and passed the half-fae a large glass of juice before sliding some milk to Epel.

“Aa, we might need to trim a little and freshen the design a bit before the next match.” They said absently, lightly running their fingers over the short undercut that the lavender haired boy had started sporting. “Would you like to keep the apple blossom motif or go with something different?”

Epel tilted his head into the touch slightly, thinking for a moment. “I think I’ll keep it a little longer. Grandpa really liked it when he watched my match on the television.”

“What did granny think about the tattoo?” Ace teased, nodding to the colorful and rather beautiful work of art that covered Epel’s shoulder and wound down his arm in the form of watercolor apple blossoms with the branches resembling brushstrokes.

“She’s getting used to it.” Epel admitted sheepishly. “She doesn’t really mind them, she just wishes I only got them where I could hide them if I need to.”

The Prefect chuckled, kissing him on the temple again.

“I think it’s very dashing.” They said.

“Hey! I could get another!” Ace protested at the smug grin Epel shot him.

“After you nearly cried when we got our group one? I doubt it.” He teased back, his wavy hair parted over the side and falling a little into his eyes.

He’d need to pin it back for practice.

“Oi! They said rib ones are the worst!” the red head protested, absently nudging the Prefect’s chair out for them with his foot so they could sit.

“Not really an excuse when you cry before they even get the needle out.”

The other four ignored the two’s bickering.

“What do you have planned today?” Deuce asked the Prefect and Grim.

“We have a self-study for potions lab.” They said thoughtfully, taking a bite and then tapping the fork against their lip. “We’ll be trying to perfect the end of term project that Crewel has us all doing.”

“It’s fine, we figured out the step that was causing the reaction between the magora roots and crushed opals.” Grim waved off any concern about the project. “We just had to adjust the temperature and make sure that the magora has dissolved and bonded with the weird whatever-you-call-it syrup before we add the opal.”

“Falarian Honey.” The Prefect reminded him.

“Yeah, that.”

“Afterwards Crowley wanted to discuss some of the plans for next year and get a start on organizing what we have planned for the RSA joint festival.” They continued.

Ace heaved a sigh as he broke away from the argument with Epel.

“I still don’t know why you agreed to intern here.” He said. “Mal-“ “WAKA-SAMA!” “Ugh, King Draconia, offered to let you intern as his personal assistant.”

The Prefect offered a small, fond smile at the thought of their dragon-fae friend.

Things had been a bit…awkward there for a little while when they realized that Malleus had grown romantic feelings towards them.

Especially in light of their own for Sebek.

The Briar King was nothing if not loyal to those he cared for, though, and after a little time to come to terms with it, he and the rest of Diasomnia were happy to support their relationship with their half-fae brother.

They knew that Malleus still loved them, but they hoped one day he would find someone that could love him with their whole heart as he did them. They were so thankful that the fae king didn’t allow his feelings to turn sour and ruin their friendship.

He had explained it to them once, during one of their nightly walks once they had reconnected. Malleus’s dragon instincts wanted them close, wanted to protect them and keep them part of his family. While it wasn’t what he had hoped originally, he was happy for their and Sebek’s happiness and with them as Sebek’s lover that meant they would still remain part of his family. It settled something inside him that prevented the loss wounding him beyond repair.

Lilia had jumped at the chance to ask when they were going to make him a grandpa, much to the Prefect's embarrassment.

Especially when Sebek insisted, without hesitation, that the responsible thing would be to wait until they graduated.

“I know, but I didn’t want to take advantage of Tsunotarou’s kindness.” They said. “And…well…I’m not quite ready to leave NRC just yet.” They admitted softly, glancing around at them with a soft smile.

“Why would you be leaving?” Jack asked as he slipped silently into the kitchen, causing the others except Sebek and Grim to jump slightly.

“Oi, stop doing that, dog-boy or I swear I’ll get one of those bells.” Ace shot over his shoulder as the wolf therianthrope pushed the longer, fluffy bangs out of his face and leaned down to give kisses to the Prefect, Deuce, and Epel.

He purposefully passed over Ace, who responded with flipping him off.

“We were just talking about internship this next year.” The Prefect smiled. “Tsunotarou offered that position as his assistant but I was saying that I kind of want to stay at NRC a little longer.” They explained.

“Still not sure how you can put up with the idiot bird man.” Ace rolled his eyes.

The Prefect giggled at that. “He’s gotten better since first year.” They defended the crow-fae.

Which, yes, he had magically seemed to change his tune after he lost most of his most well known and high ranking students.

No one still knew what happened to Azul and the eel twins, and Leona had graduated suddenly – skipping the internship year somehow – and returned to the Sunset Savanna at his brother's insistence.

Vil had been forced to retire from the public all together after the PR backlash and Rook had gone with him. Idia managed to avoid the whole thing, though that wasn’t too difficult since he hardly left his room.

Still, he had stayed far away from them until he graduated and disappeared off to the Island of Lamentations again with Ortho.

They were pretty sure Ruggie had actually worked out something with Kalim and moved his family to the Scorching Sands, but they weren’t sure about that.

Riddle had apparently wanted to get out of school as fast as possible and did what he had to to skip a year to join Trey and Cater, the three going off on internship together before coming back to graduate and then disappearing again to do something or other in the Queendom.

Ace didn’t really care to figure out what.

All in all, the first years went through their sophomore and junior years as the only ones left from their original friend group (i.e. Overblot gang) on campus.

Crowley became a much more attentive Headmage around that time and while they decided to keep the exterior of Ramshackle…well Ramshackle for aesthetic purposes, he had spared no expense to refurbish the whole dorm with the most up to date amenities.

Insisting that he could certainly never let a student of his live in such conditions, with Crewel brandishing his crop the whole way.

Funny that.

“Besides…” they said with a soft, loving smile as they looked around at the young men they loved more than anything and their partner. “This is where I met all of you…where I’ve been the happiest of my life. I just wanted to enjoy it for one more year.”

The expressions on the others told them that their feelings were understood, and they just laughed when Ace threw his arms around them and tried to pull them into his lap, kissing along their neck.

“How are you so damn cute!? It should be illegal to be this cute! We can’t just leave you here by yourself! Someone will trick you into an unmarked van with candy and kittens!”

The Prefect laughed, struggling against the kisses and tickling, bumping the table a bit and causing Deuce to try and come to their rescue until finally Sebek simply stood and went over to pick the Prefect up under the arms and pull them from between the two and proceeded to carry them back to his seat to place them on his lap.

“YOU ARE NOT ALLOWING THEM TO EAT! HUMANS NEED A HEALTHY DIET TO LIVE A LONG LIFE!” he insisted, earning a kiss on the cheek for his efforts and the Prefect just settled down more comfortably on his lap as Jack pulled their plate over and passed it to the half-fae.

Ace huffed but didn’t argue and just turned back to finish his breakfast.

“So what were you trying to tell us earlier?” Deuce asked, looking to the knight.

“AH! YES! I HAVE WONDERFUL NEWS!” He exclaimed happily, eyes shining with pride. “WAKA-SAMA HAS PREPARED EVERYTHING FOR OUR LOVELY PREFECT AND GRIM TO BE OFFICIAL BRIAR VALLEY CITIZENS!” he said, causing a brilliant smile to bloom on the Prefect’s face.

“That’s great!” Epel said with his own excited smile.

After all, their lover didn’t technically exist legally in their world with no history or records of their life. It had taken Malleus a while to prepare a completely air tight background for their friend that would allow them all the benefits afforded to the rest of those in their world.

As king he could just keep them safe in his kingdom, after all, but with this they could travel anywhere, do anything just as the rest of them. It also gave Grim a measure of protection as a sentient being instead of simply being labeled a ‘monster’ that ran the risk of being captured and carted off somewhere.

The Prefect threw their arms around Sebek’s neck and gave him a tight embrace.

“Thank you so much, Sebek. I know Malleus would have done it anyway but you did so much to help set up the history for us. It really means the world to me.”

Sebek readily wrapped his arms around the smaller human, burying his nose into their neck and just soaking in the feeling of their heart beat and warmth of their body.

“Of course, I would do anything for those I love.” He mumbled into their shoulder.

The Prefect cupped the back of his head, threading their fingers through the longer hair that the half-fae was letting grow out a bit.

They felt Jack’s warm hand against their back and knew Ace, Deuce, and Epel were just as excited for them. It was a protection that they had wanted to give their lover since they arrived and it had finally managed work.

The Prefect was a citizen of Twisted Wonderland.

This was their home.

They were home.

“We will always do anything for you.” Jack whispered, leaning in to nuzzle the side of their head lovingly, tail sweeping back and forth.

The Prefect didn’t even try to hold back their tears. More hands, more warmth surrounded them and it only made them cry harder.

They were so happy.

They were so happy to have been brought here.

So thankful to have earned the love of such wonderful people.

No matter what the future would bring for them, they knew they could handle it together.

Because it had always been and always would be them against the world.

And there was no one else the Prefect would want to face the world with.

=================

Hope you guys like it. I know it's mostly fluff with just like, the barest hints of background Yandere but well...my brain naturally turns towards fluff. Hope you're not too disappointed and that this was an okay conclusion. <3

[m3yme]

- the first time you told me your name

Pairing: soobin x fm reader

Genre: angst, break-up, lost feelings

Warnings: angsty, break-up

Summary: you and soobin had been in a relationship for a while, but recently you’ve started to drift apart. While spending what is probably the last hour as a couple you can’t help to reminisce about old times.

Note: hi <3 first of all this is a repost cause all of the text wasn’t included in the last one for some reason. Nonetheless here is my second try at posting it. This is my second writing so I’m still in the stage of trying to write decent things. Hope that it’s somewhat ok. Anyway thank you for reading and for those of you who like my posts.

“it sure is raining alot isn't it?” you say looking out the window of the cafe you were currently sitting in. “Yn I really have to go,” soobin said, pulling you out of your daze. You and Soobin had started drifting away from each other recently. It had started off from you both being busy with your separate lives, missing a few dates here and there. It was all just small things until it developed to you only seeing each other once a month or so. Him and you both knew that you were bound to break up, but both being too scared to actually pull the trigger until today, when soobin had asked you to meet up in a cafe. You knew by the sound of his voice that this would be it. The final moment of your relationship. To be frank you still had feelings for him, but seeing him avoid you as much as he did made you understand that the feelings weren’t mutual anymore. “Can we just stay for one hour please. I haven't seen you in a month so I want at least an hour before you know..” You said mumbling the last part. Soobin looked at you and sighed “I really don't think that's a good idea.” he answered, while starting to gather his things. “Please soobin.” You pleaded eyes starting to get glossy. He stopped what he was doing and nodded toward you. Your fingers started to toy with the matching couple ring you had on. The one he had gifted you on your one year anniversary. Soobin saw what you were doing and hid his hands in the pockets of his sweater, making you smile sadly. You noticed a while ago that he had stopped wearing his but you didn’t want to question it. Although you wondered what had made him take it off. You both stayed in silence for a while before you decided to speak up. “I wish we could go back to the first time you told me your name”.

It was the first year of college and although you consider yourself an outgoing person, being in such a new environment made you really nervous. The campus was ten times the size of your old high school, and to top it off none of your old friends were attending it. You had decided to come to school an hour early to try to find your classroom. Still, here you were 15 min before your first lecture, looking at a paper map puzzled. As if you weren’t already having a hard time you soon found yourself on the ground, having fallen from looking at your map and not noticing your surroundings. Before you could start getting up you felt a pair of gentle hands on your shoulders slowly guiding you up. “You should watch your surroundings more, so that you don’t hurt yourself.” You heard a soft voice say. Embarrassed, you uttered a few apologies while turning around to see who it was. A tall blonde haired boy towered you. “Why are you sorry, you haven’t done anything wrong.” He said while chuckling. As if you had lost the ability to speak, you were frozen. This made him smile softly as he picked up your map from the ground. “Are you having a hard time finding your classroom?” He asked, handing you the map. “Yeah kinda, this campus is huge.” You answered, still a bit shaken from the whole ordeal. “Well I’m a second year, so I know my way around here. I could show you to your classroom if you would like.” He said, still flashing you his charming smile. “I would like that a lot.” You said, finally having gathered up a little courage. You walked with him to your classroom, both of you sharing small talk here and there. You were surprised at how comfortable it felt.

“We’re getting close, but first do you mind if we sit down here for a minute.” He gestured towards a bench. When you both had sat down, he started to look for something in his bag, while you dageled your legs patiently waiting. Before you knew it, he was kneeling on the ground applying a band aid to a scrape you had gotten on your knee. Probably from falling previously. “It’s not good to let a pretty girl walk around with a scrape now is it?” He nonchalantly said. You couldn’t keep yourself from blushing while uttering a shy thank you, which made him look up at you smiling. He then gave you his hand to get up and you continued to walk to your classroom. When you arrived at the door he handed you an extra bandaid which he said you should keep just in case. Sad that it was time to part a pout that had been plastered on your face. This made him laugh while bidding you goodbye. After he had walked a few steps you wondered if you would ever see him around campus again, which you really hoped. Before you could finish your thought, he turned around to say “I’m Soobin by the way, you should give me a call later so I can be your tour guide around campus” while pointing at the band-aid in your hand. You looked down at it to see a number written down. Next to it was his name. “Soobin” you whispered to yourself, thinking about how well it rolled off your tongue.

[cloud-ya]

Fellow elysia hater here

After elysian realm got main story chapters i quit playing since it felt like they cared more about breast size then character. Now that it’s back to the main trio i kind of want to start playing again but it’s just boring now, still

Only characters im still interested in are HoV/Sirin, kiana and Bronya. but the first two don’t get any content anymore unfortunately

oh fuck SAME I'm glad I'm not the only one not being able to feel joy when playing honkai story anymore. with every new chapter it feels more and more than just a chore to me that I eventually have to do rather than exploring a story. I wish I could genuinely enjoy trio reunion but I just. can't. first part of it was literally just "I'm glad we're all back together But Look What Elysia Showed Me". doesn't help that mei got caught in this unfortunate crossfire because of being in elysian realm and I just couldn't stand her voice at first because I associated it with this annoying part of the story

for sure the biggest flaw in execution of elysian realm and its characters is blatant jump on cash from thirsty fans. one character having bigger breasts than the other; oh, we can't make this character have boobs bigger than her head because she's a child? don't worry there are still ways to put some ~subtle~ fetish features in her design - just make her wear nothing on her feet, even in outfits. at that point male characters were the only ones designed somewhat sensibly because they would never end up as playable, so mihoyo wouldn't make some extra money on them anyway. it's so frustrating because the concept itself was great, but hoyo fucked it up with wanting more money

its another flaw is shoving it in the main story out of nowhere. it was good when it was its own mode, they could make some notification when finishing chapter 25 that "hey, mei's now in elysian realm so just for your information what's happening with her rn you can go to this new mode and check out its story!", but no, they just had to shove it along with that fucking open world there. and argue all you want, but I don't see any decent enough development value for it to be featured as part of main story. when they realized that there should be some better message at the end than "elysia is cool give us money" they just quickly came up with theme of memory or bearing knowledge about some random dead people or whatever. cool, mei bears this knowledge of thirteen dead people from 50k years ago, but what of it? what is she supposed to do with that knowledge further.

from what I know elysian realm is available before people even get to the chapter 25, which I don't like either because of fucking course people will try a new mode that opens at some captain level despite not knowing what's happening, who those characters are and in what part of the story this is supposed to be happening. it should be available after clearing certain mission/stage in the main story, not after reaching certain captain level

all that drop in quality makes me keep forgetting to check on honkai because there's just nothing that would keep me hooked really. I hope chrono navi patch and its main event will make me check on the game more often, but that would be just that

[rbb-travels-of-the-cube]

So we got Captain Eclipse and Sunny, anyone else in the crew? Perhaps a moon or a lunar? Maybe a monty or a freddy of some sort? Oh or a blood moon would be good, he would probably love a pirate life. I mean I kind of hope so, a crew of two would suck if you have a decent size ship

"Sadly it's just us. Which is why we need all the help on the ship we can get."

"Freddy has his own crew. Monty's with him. Although I honestly can't understand why they work together. Then again they aren't. . Uhhh. Like us."

"pirates Sunny boy! It's called pirates!"

"Oh quiet up about it! It's not exactly a good thing!"

"Aye! But it's a thing that's keeping this ship under my tethers. Which is why we need all the crew we can get. Now you said you can control the wind Blue Moon? Mind if you show a demonstration if you would be so kind?"

Blue Moon blinks as he's brought back into the conversation. Nodding his head before looking upwards toward the sales. Several runes appear behind them before a gust jolts the ship forwards. Blue Moon yelping and gripping onto the ship's mast tighter. The runes disappearing and the gusts going away.

"Ohe me-lad ye are some kind of sea witch! Although given how scared you are of the water I'm guessing you're more of a land witch."

"there's no way he can keep up this wind magic If he freaks out every single time the sea casts a ripple on its surface! Honestly I wish this lunar or blood moon was around. That way we could simply man this ship without thievery or humans dying!"

"Well then get moon off the ship!"

"He's not a siren! You're half blind! You can't even see to the tip of the ship, much less tell the details of someone's face!"

"I know a siren when I see one! And ya haven't been on the sea long enough to tell!"

"who is this moon that you speak of? A mystery that this ship seems to reek of?"

Captain Eclipse and Sunny seem to freeze. Looking back to Blue Moon who is still clutching onto the mast. Although is thankfully focused on the two more than the water. Eclipse straightens himself up. Flirting out a huff before returning his attention to Blue Moon.

"I suppose you'll meet Moon later in the evening. For now though, ya need to get that wind starting without freezing. The ships just moving because you're moving it. You shouldn't have a fear of how the boat sways when you're the one making its way. For the most part."

"The water could take me away. I do not wish for anything to sway!"

"You're on a boat lad-e. It's guna sway whether you like it or not. Now come on! Give it another go.

[joe9cool]

Collide - Justin Herbert - 9

Sara was on cloud fucking nine. 

Justin had just left for practice, they had a small breakfast together before he left, telling her he’d see her Sunday night. They were leaving straight for Texas after practice, which sucked Sara was going to miss him but she was otherwise happy 

“I could fall in looovve with you.” Sara sang as she twirled around his living room, her phone playing Selena on full blast from the bluetooth speaker. She poured herself a big mimosa while she was cleaning. It was a celebratory occasion afterall, she was happy, she officially had a man, who despite his injury blew her back out last night.

Selfish as this may, she wanted him to recover fast, not only for the team, but fuck. Justin was a whole foot taller than her, she wanted him to take advantage. Use that size to fuck her up. I mean she couldn’t complain, he ate her out like a starved man last night. She was in such a good mood, she didn’t even check twitter and it didn’t even bother her that Taylor would be working alongside her man. 

As she was dancing, she picked up Nova and swung her around, the cat looking confused. Her phone began ringing, and Sara saw that it was her Agent. She picked up. “Hello?”

“Sara I have some huge news,” Derek stated. He was known for getting straight to the point. “So guess who reached out to me?” Before she could answer, he cut in “Richelle Mead!”

She gasped. “The author? Of the Vampire Academy books?”  Memories of her being obsessed with the six book series in high school, camping out all night for the newest release, texting all her friends about Dimitri and Rose. 

“The one and only, and guess what? They are making a movie adaption of the books. Richelle is already scouting for the roles and she said she is very interested in having you play Rose!” 

“Shut the fuck up!” She jumped up and down, forgetting that she was holding an animal in her other arm. After setting the cat down with a quick apology, she began her celebration. “Did she give a timeline to anything?”

Derek sighed, “Nothing yet, we probably wouldn’t be looking at any finalization until the end of 2023. But the studio would be Lionsgate and they are looking to spend the money right now. You are the most sought out actresses, and a sure blockbuster.” She smiled, well it for sure would be an amazing opportunity.  “Keep me informed.”

“That’s what I am here for, baby. Also, Ben from Lord Huron reached out and asked if you would be able to sing on another track. They are rereleasing their album with a couple bonus tracks.”

“Oh that’s great! I still have Ben’s number! I will call him as soon as we are done.” They went over filming, and asked if she got the script for the new season of the show. Once they finalized that they hung up.

Once dressed and complete with hair and makeup (emphasis on makeup covering the hickeys on neck, she headed out to meet Ben and the others. Sara was a huge Lord Huron fan, discovering them in 2012 as a sixteen year old, and introduced the show’s audience to their music,  and they blew up. When The Lead singer reached out late 2020 and asked if she wanted to be a part of ‘I lied’ she freaked out, the song and the music video was a success, and as a thank you he painted the single album cover that hangs in her home. Justin asked about it the first time he came over, and she put a bunch of their songs on Spotify for him to listen to.

The studio the band was working at was a decent drive and with the LA traffic it was about a couple hours later that she walked into the old warehouse that he converted into a recording studio. After the greetings they got to work. Ben asked her what songs she wanted to sing on and she chose ‘Meet me in the City’ and ‘Drops in the Lake’. Meet me in the city was a very sexy song about lovers who were in a forbidden relationship and wanted to run away together. It made her think of her and Justin’s story.  Drops in the Lake was a sad song about Love lost and wishing you could go back in time. 

Ben was remixing in the booth and Sara decided to post a photo of the sound studio on her stories. Immediately people began replying, however one caught her eye,

HarryStyles: Glad to see you're in the studio again. Takes me back.

She stared at it. Why the fuck would he send this? What does this all mean? She had spent so many nights wanting this moment. All the thirst traps she posted on insta, all the moments she pretended she was living her best life with her friends while she was really drunk and down a self destructive path. Now she picked herself up, has someone else in her life and he's doing all of this? For what? He is still with Olivia and they seem happy. So why?

"Alright Sara" Ben's voice broke her from her trance. "So I'm gonna go in and record the first verse, and then you do the second. We will combine together for the chorus and you will sing the last line of the song." She smiled. "Oh that's my favorite line!" 

She watched as Ben stepped in the booth and the music began playing. She was on the couch, swaying back and forth and singing along. Since this was a re-record, she was up before she knew it. Once she got the cue she started to sing her part

Go home and say goodbye forever

Tell your ball and chain you won't be back around.

Forget the life you had and don't look back.

Get your courage up and drink this down.

If our love is so wrong, tell me why does it feel so right?

She closed her eyes and pictured the events of the night before. Justin untying the strings of the bikini before reaching his large hands up to cup her breasts. Her breath getting heavy as she felt his lips on her neck. Her reaching behind her and grabbing his length and stroking as she heard his moans. 

Her voice breathy as she sang the chorus

Meet me in the city baby

Meet me in the city baby

Meet me in the city baby.

Am I not the one you're dreaming of my angel?

Am I not the one you wanna love forever?

Sara stopped and opened her eyes and smiled at Ben. Who smiled back and pressed the mic 

that connected them to the booth. "You fucking killed it Sara! I love the voice at the end. You put so much emotion to it."

"Why thank you Ben." He was a great guy. They had so many things in common. His wife was the greatest as well. She had them over for dinner many times. As she came back into the room she saw he was messing the buttons(she didn't know what anything did. Despite Ben and Harry teaching her.) 

"So how's everything? Anything exciting?"

Ben cursed as he hit the wrong button.

Sara laughed and sat on the couch behind him. "Things are going good." She hesitated. "I'm seeing someone." Ben turned around to face her  "Really? Anyone I know?"

"Justin Herbert." He looked at her. "He's the quarterback for the Los Angeles Chargers."

"Ah. Sports?" She rolled her eyes. "The football team." He laughed. "Now you know damn well if it isn't baseball I don't give a shit."

She laughed. "You're right, I should have known."

,"is it a new thing?" She nodded. "Three months. But Ben he is amazing, it's like it's been years. It's crazy, because we are total opposites but the same as. I'm an extrovert, he's an introvert. He hates the media and attention, it's pretty much my job. I'm short, he's tall. But I'm crazy about him in every way."

"Does he feel the same?"  She stopped." He does, but he has a hard time showing it. He's not the most romantic guy, but he's trying."

Ben nodded. "What?"

He sighed. "I'm not saying every guy I'd the same. But  when I met my wife I didn't have to try. Now granted you said he's an introvert, but I hope it's because of that. Sara, you're like a sister to me and I don't want to see you get hurt again."

It was almost the exact same thing Bella said to her. Which pisse her off. "It's different, I met his family. Trust me if you meet him you will see what I am seeing."

"What do you mean if?" 

"Well he is not really into the whole family and celebrity thing. So I don't know if he would be comfortable meeting my friends."

“This is someone you want to be in a relationship with?" That shut her up, and Ben knew he pushed a bit too far. "Listen."

"Let's just finish the recordings" She got up. "I have to use the bathroom" and she walked out.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Atta boy Herbo!!" Justin turned around, following the voice towards his Offensive Lineman who  was cheering, soon the whole locker room was yelling.

"What's going on?" Justin was confused, did he have a good practice, was it some milestone he hit?

"My boy made some lady very happy!" Mike hollered! Justin was still confused. "You don't see your back? Or more importantly feel it?"

"My man Herbo don't feel nothing! He got that dog in him!" The whole locker room laughed. Justin went to the mirror and turned around.

Holy shit 

There were scratches everywhere. From Sara's nails that were done when she was doing promo. He didn't even realize she was scratching that hard. Well, he did keep telling her to go harder. Whoops 

"Ayo! Who's the lucky girl? You still hitting Bisciotti?" 

He would never be able to escape that name. "No, actually my girlfriend did this."

Mike stopped. "Herb, you mean?" Justin nodded his head and smiled. Mike almost tackled him. "AYO Man!!! I'm happy for you! Look at you getting your head out of your ass!!! Sara is a great girl!!!"

"Wait Sara? That's her name?" Ekeler was invested as well now. He noticed his teammate was silent. "Come on man! This is huge our little man is growing up" he stood up to ruffle Justin's hair. 

"Wait, you met Sara?"

Mike laughed. "Well we met her in July when we went to Joe's wedding. Really cool, too cool for Herb. I don't know what she sees in him."

Justin blushed. Not liking all of this attention on him and the relationship. "Come on  guys, shut up." It came out weak and the group laughed even louder.

"You gotta let us meet her man! This is huge!" Sebastian swung his arm around Justin

"I don't know yet guys. It's too soon."

Just shoved off Sebastian's arm and headed towards the showers. Making sure to keep a good time for the team to get on the plane."

Ekeler looked towards the group. "Did you see how red he got? My man's in love "

After the shower the guys got their stuff ready. Justin sent a quick text to Sara.

J: Getting ready to board plane. Miss you already."

S: miss you . Get the W for me.

J: look at you speaking like a true football fan. 

S: learned from the best. Also I'll be watching in your jersey…. And nothing else. Want a picture for good luck?

Justin groaned. This girl was going to kill him

J: only if we win. And I don't throw an interception.

S: I'll blow you if you don't throw one. What am I saying. I'll blow you either way.

"Hey Herb what's with the pink face? Talking to ya girl." Bash came out of nowhere and looked over Justin's shoulder. "AYE AYE My man's getting laid Sunday night!"

"Fuck off" Justin's phoned dinged and he looked at it. It was a selfie of her blowing a kiss to him. Bash gasped.

"Get the fuck out." Justin tried to silence him but it was too late. "Dawg your girl is Sara Wozniak!" Grabbing the attention of the other players, who turned towards Justin. "Ayeee Herbos girl is Sara Wozniak"

Murmurs of "atta boy Herb" and "holy shit" came about. Bosa came over. "Sara Wozniak! Her show is my favorite! I binged the first two seasons in Quarantine."

Justin's face was really pink now. "We met at Joe's wedding, and hit it off."

Bosa shook his head. "That fucker, I didn't get an invite. I got to give him shit for that later." 

Before the conversation could continue Staley called them over to discuss some things before takeoff. Justin was in deep thought. Was he ready for Sara to meet all of these guys? Was it going too fast?

Then it occurred to him. He had a football game to win. This should be the furthest on his mind. He turned on his laptop and began to watch game highlights from the Texans games.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Was it a bit early to start drinking? It probably was but Sara didn't care. After the studio Ben invited her to a local western bar with him and his wife for some drinks. It was 1pm, so not too bad. While Ben and Sasha sipped on their beets she enjoyed a spiked blueberry lemonade. 

"Hey listen, I'm sorry for making all these assumptions about this Justin guy. I should trust your judgment about it. He seems great." Ben smiled and Sara could tell that while he was sorry, there was some truth about his previous statements. "I know you guys are looking out for me and I appreciate it. But trust me it's been good so far. We got off to a rough start, but it seems that he is a better person. He's just stressed about the injury and the pressure of the team doing well."

Ben nodded. "Remember if he doesn't treat you right I'm a phone call away to beat his ass. I could too."

Sasha laughed. "Babe, he's 6'6 and you're barely 6'2 I don't know about that." Sara joined in  " actually I don't know if he's a fighter so you might have an advantage there Ben."

Halfway through their lunch Sara's phone began to ring, she excused herself when she saw Timothe's name.

"Hello Timmy!"

"Sara, my favorite girl, how are you?" She heard the smile on his face. He was always happy.

"I'm great, for what do I owe this phone call for?"

"I need you to do a huge favor and attend Virgil's birthday party as my date."

Every year since Virgil Abloh's death. A party was held on his birthday. He loved parties and he made his friends promise they would continue to celebrate his life. It was a big event that was held at a mansion. The best food, alcohol, and music. All of the celebs would be there."

Sara laughed. "You know damn well I wouldn't let you go to that party alone. Timmy. I will see you Saturday night." 

After plans had been made she returned to her lunch. 

Her phone buzzed again. It was Justin.

J: She lit a fire and now she's in my every thought.

Sara smiled. So he saw her story. He started following her a few days ago and began replying to all of her stories.  Some funny replies and liked a couple photos. He joked that she should take down all of her thirst traps. There was a little back and forth but eventually they came down. She didn't care, everything was going great.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Virgil Forever!!"

Her and Timothee screamed in the elaborate photo booth as it snapped photos. It was Saturday night, and the party for the late Virgil was in full swing as her and Timothee arrived late (her makeup artist couldn't get a lash to stick, and her black curve hugging dress designed for her by Virgil was impossible to find in her closet.) She and Tim arrived to a sea of paparazzi outside the mansion. No doubt the rumor mill was going to be running wild.

Sara had been dogging the questioning that Timmy had given her at her house when he walked into her closet and saw men's clothing. (Sara had stolen a little bit of Justin's shirts and sweatshirts) She had simply told him that she purchased them and they were clothes to relax around the house. He didn't believe that one bit but he left it alone until they were in the car. 

"So you are seeing someone?" Sara shrugged. "I've been on a few dates with some dudes. All douchebags."

"So you steal their clothes?"

"Well some I bought others I took after a hookup."

The subject was dropped when they arrived.  Drinks were poured, appetizers were served and photos were taken. She took photos with Naomi Campbell, among others. She had hit the dance floor after a few. Her heels were killing her, and so Timothee had to hold them while she switched into a pair of flats.

She was wobbling around looking for the restrooms. She went outside to catch some air. Coming across a few strangers she asked if they had a cigarette on them. Sara liked to indulge in one when she was drinking or stressed. She hadn't told Justin about her secret. What he didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

Unfortunately her cover was blown when he FaceTimed her. She wasn't thinking, and she picked up with the white stick in her mouth. "Heey baby." She slurred. 

His eyes narrowed. "What is in your mouth?" His tone was angry. Well fuck

She took it out of her mouth and blew out the smoke. "A cig, they hit the spot when drinking."

"Take that shit out your mouth." She giggled. "Make me. You're not here so I have to have something in my mouth."

Justin growled. "God you are so fucking dirty. I need to teach you a lesson when I get home. How many puffs did you take?"

She thought for a minute. "Probably like nine so far." She took another one. "That makes ten." Justin smirked. "What?"

"Just counting the ass spankings." She moaned. "Fuck you Justin Patrick!"

"Huh?"

"You always do this shit to me when youre not here! Leaving me a fucking mess that you can't satisfy."

Justin laughed. "But don't I always make up for it?" 

"I guess."

"Good girl. Now please do not ever let me catch you smoking again. It's an awful habit. And also please go home. I don't like you being drunk when I'm not around."

She wanted to push further. "You don't trust me?"

"I don't trust anyone around you."

"Well you're lucky I'm over this party and I need to prepare for the awful hangover tomorrow." He laughed.

He stayed on the phone with her the entire time she said goodbye to friends, and in the car ride to her place. (Which sucked when she realized most of her shit was at his house.) They hung up and she only had the energy to wash her face and strip naked from the curve hugging dress. 

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------*----

Sara was never drinking again.

It was a fucking miracle how she managed to pull herself together after last night. Well she had woken up to Heidi bitching her out after a clip of her singing the Jeffrey Dahmer line from the controversial song went viral. Big deal everyone else was. Heidi wrote up a apology to put outon her Twitter, even though the consensus among the people was that is was stupid to get mad at that. Everyone at that party was singing it as well.After throwing up a few times she put on her comfy shorts and an oversized t-shirt, skipping the makeup and the contacts she went over to Joe and Alisha's house to watch the game.It was off to a good start, Justin and the team looked good, well let's face it she was only focused on Justin the entire time.

At one point Joe got up to take a phone call and they showed a close up of number 97 on the field. Alisha sighed dreamily. "Bosa is so damn fine." Sara turned her head slowly to avoid dizziness. "Bosa?”

Alisha took a sip of her water. "Joey Bosa. Sweet man, he's huge. He weighs almost 300 lbs."

"Jesus." Sara muttered. "Imagine all that weight on you." Alisha choked and began to cough laughing. "Is it bad that I imagined it as well?"

Both girls were giggling as Joe side eyed them as he came back into the room "What's funny?"

"Sara was ogling Bosa. " his wife stated. "You bitch. I wasnt" Joe groaned 

"Not you too. You already have Herb."  Sara smiled. "Nothing wrong with looking."

"Speaking of Herb, I spoke with Ann-Sophie. He is treating you right? Cause I'll kick his ass." It was Sara's turn to groan. Fucking big mouth. Also what is with the guys wanting to fight Justin? Especially when they weren't even close to his size.

"First off, you are 5'10 and are not cracking 200 lbs. Second, everything is okay now. It was rough but we are official."

Joe sighed. "Listen, Herb is a good guy, he's just not used to living our lifestyle and I think he gets overwhelmed and doesn't know how to handle his feelings. He is football, football, football. He's had flings before but that's it." At the mention of flings Sara was curious. "What flings?"

"He hasn't told you anything?" Sara shook her head no. "Aww fuck, I shouldn't be saying anything. It's not my business."

"He won't open up to me about that, and to be fair I haven't said anything either. I swear I won't say anything." Joe paused. "You swear you won't mention anything?"

Sara shook her head yes

"Last I heard, he was sorta seeing a reporter for the NFL network. Can't recall her name, however it's not too much of a secret but they were trying to keep it on the down low. Could ruin her reputation. However they broke it off last season. She was traveling all over the place. Herb isn't into that. He's a hermit."

She snorted. "You're telling me, we've only been to Jerry's once. Not that I mind, but he's definitely a recluse." Joe laughed. Sara paused, unsure of how to ask the next question. "Do you think he would be seeing both of us at the same time?"

Joe didn't hesitate. "Nah, Justin wouldn't o

Do that to you. He's a good dude from a good family. What makes you think that?"

She didn't want to blow her cover of already knowing about Taylor. "I don't know. I guess since you've known him the longest you would know what he is like."

"Again He's a good dude. Just be patient with him, he's not used to a relationship." 

The conversation was interrupted by the Texans scoring and making it a close game. "WHAT THE FUCK! IM SORRY LOMBARDI NEEDS TO GO!" 

Alisha rolled her eyes. "Sara, do you want to come help me get some food out?" She nodded and followed her to the kitchen."

As she got out the microwavable snacks she stated to Sara. "You knew about the reporter didn't you?"

Sara tried  to look surprised. "Wait what? What makes you think that?"

Alisha smiled. " a woman always knows. We are always one step ahead. You'd think these men would understand that by now."

"When he got injured, I spent a few nights at his house. While he was out, she sent him a bear with an edible arrangement. It was signed 'your TayBae.' That's not someone who thinks the relationship cooled down. Then there were posts on Tumblr saying he picked her up from the airport over the summer. Which would have been right before he met me." She sighed. " I don't want to say anything, cause that would make me hypocrite with Harry but it's eating me up."

"Sara you can't do that. It wouldn't make you a hypocrite. Your relationship with Harry was long over before Justin came into the picture." She pondered over that.

"The only solace is that everytime he has been in LA I've been with him, the exception being when I was in New York."

"Well I'm not trying to sound like Joe, but if he asked you to be his girlfriend, he would have ended it. He isn't like that."

Sara believed it. "Okay"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

"We doing a victory Brisket at Herb's house? Justin looked up from his tablet to see the whole team smiling at him. "I don't know man. My ribs hurt and we should rest."

"You are so full of shit. I heard you ask the doc for an injection after the game." Bash began laughing. "Oh I get it Herb you in for a long night ehh. Atta boy!" The plane began laughing while Justin flushed red. He had a nice night planned with Sara, one that didn't involve the team."

"That's none of your business." Was all he could say and it sent the boys laughing harder. Mike jumped in. "Ayyee gathering at Herbs tomorrow who's in?"

The usual group chimed in that they would be there. He heard a new voice. "I'm in." He looked over and saw Bosa staring at the group. "I've been wanting to try this famous Brisket you all rave about. "Justin thought nothing of it. Although it was weird that he was joining them.

It was whatever, he just wanted to go home to Sara. He had some plans.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Justin woke up. He felt refreshed.

Except he wasn't on the team plane, he wasn't even on the damn bus.

He was in bed. His bed. He looked around, seeing the usual. Nothing seemed different, until he looked at the photos on the wall. Which was weird, cause he didn't have photos in his bed.

There was one of his family, and one of him and Sara. He felt something on his finger and he looked. It was a shiny silver band. He held up his hand and inspected it. 

"Hi baby!" He looked up to see Sara enter the room. Her stomach looked a little swollen. "Your kid is really active today."

Before he could respond he woke up. He was gasping for breath. He was back on the plane. No one was paying attention. He rested his head and took a deep breath.

That was weird. That meant nothing 

Right?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"How are your ribs?"

Justin let out a heavy gasp as Sara moaned. "You're seriously ughhhhh oh god baby asking me about my ribs?" He let out another moan as Sara rolled her hips "Fuck baby don't stop."

He was sitting on the bed feet down while Sara was riding him. As soon as he came through the door they were all over each other. Justin had shown her why it wasn't a good idea for him to shave his facial hair. (She had teased him before about shaving, she might have to rethink that)

She moaned as Justin started to suck and bite at her nipples. Once he discovered it as her weakness there was no going back. "God I love your tits." He took them both in his hands and squished his face in between them. "Mine, no one else gets to see these." Sara rolled her eyes. She had mentioned to him that she had a couple roles she had to turn down because they wanted full frontal nudity. She was okay with bras and sex scenes, even the illusion she was nude but that was it. She didn't expect Justin to be so possessive. It was fucking hot to be honest.

"Oh god babe I'm gonna cum!" Sara moaned as she came, him throwing his head back as she felt him release in her. They both collapsed on the bed. Trying to catch their breaths. Sara looked over at Justin and smiled, him returning the expression. "Sooo tomorrow.." He trailed off as she began tracing his chest. "Some of the guys are coming over tomorrow for a victory Brisket. I have to order a bunch of groceries."

"We can go shopping tomorrow. I can make some cookies or something." She couldn't hide the excitement in her voice as she thought about meeting his teammates.

"Naw I think we should just get delivery, it will be easier and you know…." He didn't finish the sentence. She already knew where it was going. He didn't want to draw attention, she exhaled. "I know you're right." She got up to use the bathroom  and she heard Justin get up and follow her. She decided to take a bath, she was surprised to see all the bath stuff he bought. 

Sara lit some candles and started the water. Looking for the bubble solution, she dumped a hefty amount. As she was doing this she felt his eyes on her.  "I'm sorry." He said

"For what?" She submerged herself, moaning as the warm water hit all the Sore muscles. 

"One day I'll be comfortable with being on camera and photographed. It's just intimidating. The fame, I guess it's just people prying into my life I don't like."

She nodded "I understand, trust me it's a lot. Everyone knows almost everything about you but honestly it silences people. I used to be like that. Closed off, but I feel like it gives people ammo to talk crap, to fill the narrative with what they want. I'm not saying life has to be an open book, but people can make things up." He smiled. "I guess. Can I join you?"

"You don't have to ask." He slipped in and rested his head against her shoulder as she laid kisses on his neck. "Are you trying to go for round two?" She laughed. "I mean," her hand slipped down and began to trace his abs. "I wouldn't be opposed. But you gotta be careful. I don't need LA coming after me because I put you out for the season." He snorted. "Die by fucking you is a dream."

She laughed and continued rubbing his chest, avoiding the mid section. Justin sighed. "Please don't stop."

And she didn't, and they did go for round two."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Alright guys. Practice and media tomorrow. I think we all know the keys to beating the browns next week." Staley turned off the projector and the guys got up. They had a workout, followed by some video review of next week's opponent. It was noon, and Justin had told the guys that were coming over to be at his home around three. He and Sara had delivered a bunch of groceries and she was running around making sure they had enough food prepared. She had texted him pictures of the salads she made as well as drinks. It was a lot, but some guys would be able to take home leftovers as well. Sara had Italian roots, she told him as such there was no such thing as too much food. 

Justin got home, showered and saw that Sara was dressed and ready. "Do you need my help with anything?" She shook her head no "you can start grilling whenever you want." He gave her a kiss and started seasoning the meat and got everything ready. Before they knew it it was 3 and some people started arriving. Once the fawning over who she was stopped everyone began relaxing.

Sara noticed Justin's demeanor was different. When he introduced her he just introduced her as 'Sara' no 'my girlfriend' or anything. She tried to not let it get to her. But he kept giving her one word answers and seemed to act like a friend would. She took a deep breath as she refilled her water. 'That's just how he is. ' she thought

'"Hi you must be Sara." A voice broke her from her thoughts. "Yes hi -"

In front of her was a very big, tall man. He looked like he could be straight out of Game of thrones. Joey Bosa. She smiled,  “Why yes I am, you must be Bosa.” He raised his eyebrows. “Look at you using my last name, you must have been watching me a lot on the field.” He held out a cake. “I am not a baker, so I just stopped at a bakery, I am Italian, so we never go to anyone’s house empty handed.” She took it, it was a chocolate bundt from Nothing Bundt Cakes “Oh my favorite, also Bosa, I knew that was Italian. I am as well.”

“Really? Wozniak isn’t Italian.”

“My mom’s side is Italian, her maiden name is Ricci.” Joey let out an ahhh .

Truth be told Joey had been there for quite some time, he had come in through the backyard and greeted the guys. He had noticed Justin failed to mention  that there was even a woman in the home, let alone his girlfriend. Mike had been filling him in all about this new relationship. Joey knew that his QB could be a douche when it came to girls. Justin was oblivious to Taylor wanting to be more than a hookup, Hannah from the Bachelor wanting to take their relationship public and he ended up dumping her. However, Sara Wozniak was not someone to play with. Call him fan crazed, but he always liked her movies, when he would catch interviews she seemed like a cool person. So far he was right, she was easy to talk to, and the fact that she went out of her way to throw together this shindig for hungry football players? Sara was a dream.

He was awestruck by her beauty, especially seeing her up close. Once he knew all the guys were outside, he made the excuse of putting the cake on the counter. Which led him here, paying more attention to the brunette beauty more than her own boyfriend. 

Speaking of Herb he interrupted the conversation when he opened the sliding door to announce the food is ready. As everybody began to fill up their plates Joey noticed that Justin sat by the team at the dining room table and began discussing plays, leaving Sara to sit by herself at the island. Once he got his plate he put it next to Sara, she looked up and smiled at him and he smiled back. His heart skipped a beat.

He wasn’t the guy to move on his buddy’s girl, but if Justin couldn’t see what was in front of him, maybe she would start looking in a different direction, and he would be right in her line of sight.

A/N Hey guys, I apologize, I feel like this is a weak chapter on my end. I am just on a high after an amazing week 4. But Yes All I am going to say about Bosa is... It be your own sometimes *devil emoji*

Feel free to ask any questions, comment, show concern, my ask box is always open

[smashedapplesfactory]

Blessed greetings to spiritual brethren and Mx 💜 a recent reflection on my life cycles, the last ten at least I have experienced loss of my soul parent, mother, and her father, my grandfather. Grief has been a weird and unkind journey I wish could have happened later on, and with less of an impact. But in.all of this process I felt discnnwcyed, on auto pilot, spirituality had left the building which made my heart organ hurt, it felt like the magic had left the emotional heart.

As I came to want to move on from the heavy grief, effects and isolated was, I literally stepped my foot out in to society, found myself with a new partner in life, living in a beautiful coastal town in Australia, very natural, very grounding, picturesque, the magic was all there.

Times moves my story forward, to my partner disconnecting and flying opposite to what we had planned, he began showing traits of alcoholism, narssasism, believe me when I say I literally fell for him, there were so many great things (still very much are) to this original type of human and soul. But no matter how much I tried to contribute, whether it was at the house front, literally - professional expectations of tidiness - which they were 110% not tidy. I felt I delivered in a number of aspects to our shared time, and by the 'ship's end, I had received a plate thrown at my leg, a vinyl thrown at my head, and been punched/attacked from behind unknowing, unexoecting. From me, unprovoked.

That ship was done, I was gone. And again, as leaving one thing entered into life of isolation due to the 2019 CoVid pandy. Leaving a domestic abusive ship, during covid was very emotionally hard and energy taxing. I got through it.

I ended up in Sydney, Australia for three months, before heading back to Melbourne, the ideally spend Christmas with my family, I ended up in Melbourne for a good year. Of .. nothing.

I lived off one of the cities main streets, Elizabeth Street, near the Colin's street intersection. I guess during that time it was about looking inward and trying to REALLY appreciate things that had constantly been overlooked prior to the pandy, due to being busy, distracted, unaware. Though to bring it up again, I was doing isolation way before covid, grief isolation.

By the time I was at the peak of covid in 2021, I was officially having iso cabin fever. Sure, I made sure to get outside as much as possible, go for rides, have time out of my bedsit sized apartment.

With protests, then, taking place right on my street, outside of my front door, I began seeing things I wasn't expecting to see in my life, walls of police officers blocking access to protestors, protestors roudy and angry (about a series of covid economy related topics). I once got fined for not wearing a face mask, OUTside.

I had this crazy sense that the government I had hoped was citizen focused was taking me and the people I loved for a ride.

Prior to my mother's diagnosis, I was so enthralled in Community, the practice of, the physical places, activities, personalities, creatives. A celebration.

I spent a decent eight years starting in my twenties going to.placea of community, being a part of or creating space to facilitate.

Let's fast forward back to lines being drawn, vaccinations being had, objected and challengd and the post feedback that brought. Throughout my time on Elizabeth Street, over the course of the one year, as I rode from my apartment block to the Bayside, as I was leaving the city space, I'd say I saw the coroner's car, about 20 times. (I saw twenty bodies), dead, in laneways, from people jumping out of their apartments due to the mental health breakdown and zero support available due to "the times".

A result from what I saw, gave me drive to step up for mental health, to lend an ear to any person who needed social contact, via call, DM's or catch up but with "distance" - covid. Right?

Why am I writing all of this ?

Because all of this has been my journey, and from each tragedy, life has sprouted lessons, pain, trauma, self healing, a constant mind turning education of reality and perception.

I'm at a stage now where the world seems OK to dip my feet out from the shadows and try to bring together some lessons for self and others who are inspired.

I feel I am confident with the lesson of Routine. Finding what drives, finding what doesn't work, putting together a constant routine on how to live day to day.

I seem to have entered the universe of confidence, something which I lacked during my teens, kind of picked up in my twenties and was kicked out of my right as I entered my 30's.

I'm 38 this year, so really hoping to get mastered under confidence and other points for my foutries.

Life has been a mind bending experience and I hope as each day arrives I can contribute shared from my journey, spiritual and in real life.

Thank you for seeing a universe from my mind's eye, join in and see where this goes. I sure hope great things to follow....

TJx

[coffin-comforts]

Hands of the Maker

WIP Chapter 1

I have never been what one would call a courageous man. I have always shuddered at loud noises, cowered from figures in the dark, bent to the point of breaking before those who would threaten me, but I wish that the fear I had felt upon Lord Vincent Villanueva-Navarro’s approach to my stand at the market was enough to drive me from his presence. He eyed me like a wolf does a hare, glinting golden eyed sadistic delight. I am not unused to these looks, from my youth to my becoming a man many have ... delighted in my appearance which is ‘finer than that or warrior or woman, as fair and delicate as a rose’ or so I am told. Many proposals decent and indecent have been thrust upon me affectionate letters, gifts, salacious whispers in my ear, a wandering hand on my back at a market stand or on my thigh pressed under a table. I know better that to be vain or ungrateful, such things are sins, but in some respect I envy those who’s faces are plain and are allowed the respite of anonymity in a crowd.

“Such excellent craftsmanship, do you know the name of the sculptor?”

I bowed my head in part out of politeness, the other fear

“I must thank you, for I am he”

He looked up at me one more and his smile split his face in two. For an instant I swear he had the fangs of a beast.

“Really? I am quite impressed by your work, your attention to each minute detail is ... nothing short of breathtaking”

He did not look at my wares as he said this, slowly raking his eyes over my face and body, his lustful gaze eventually settling on the crook of my neck.

“Thank you sir. If you would like to purchase one you may, but if you would like to commission a piece of your own design I would be happy to create such a work for a negotiated price”

The man’s face glowed with delight

“Do you have experience in likenesses? I would love to have you come to my home and make a sculpture of me. Not a large one, perhaps about the size of my forearm, so that it may fit on my desk, could you do that for me?”

I nodded

“Yes, while my preferred subject is birds I do sculpt people as well”

I pulled from beneath my table a statue of Apollo carrying the sun which seemed to excite the man even further.

“Please, allow me to see your hands”

I warily held them out my palms to the sky and he immediately snatched them into his own. Bringing them to his face, kissing and caressing them. I was stunned into silence far too terrified to speak at his boldness.

“Every part of you is precious but most precious of all are these artist’s hands. Such things from which beauty is begot but which still cannot compare to their own beauty and the beauty of their owner. I cherish these hands though I have only but touched them for the first time. Should any harm come to these hands I would destroy he who wrought it and scatter his body across the whole of Christendom”

His words I did not doubt, as he looked to be in contemplation with a murderous intent. I did not dare pull myself aware from such a man as I was aware in that instant that he would have the power to rip me in two should I resist him.

“Thank you sir. You are too generous to me, I am but a humble craftsman”

He paused in his ministrations instead pulling my hands down his face and neck pressing them to his heart. Looking at me pityingly

“Do not let such falsehoods pass those perfect lips! I would die a thousand deaths just to allow you to see thine own beauteous works and thine beauteous form through mine own eyes! My treasure, my Helen of Troy, I demand that you come sup with me this night and complete your work for me. I will pay you in a bar of gold if I must, please I entreat you let not another moment of this day go by when I am not at your side”

He is clearly mad, his face flushed with frenzied fever. I dare not deny him for I fear my life if I do.

“If you would allow me to pack my things, I would gladly join you. I only request that I know your name”

“Only if I may be returned your name in kind, fair creature. I am Lord Vincent Villanueva-Navarro of Andalusia”

I am grateful that I had the presence of mind to hold my tongue. If he truly be a lord of Andalusia it would do me well to pay great respects to him should he cut me down in ill temper. I bowed as deeply as my hand still in his would allow.

“Mateo, my lord. I beg your forgiveness for my earlier manners, I was unaware of your lordship’s parentage”

He pulled my arms apart outstretched like the wings of a butterfly pulling me close to his chest. Not a soul underneath the market tent spoke a word to this, it seemed as if for all the world Lord Villanueva-Navarro was unseen to all and that I was caught in his blanket of unseeing beside him.

“Please, I wish to hear my given name on your tongue once more. Do not speak to me reverently as if you are any mere mortal man, speak to me as if I were your closest confidant and I shall never be displeased. Do not lower yourself for my sake, you lofty heights astound and thrill me. Should you be below me I want such rank not to come from my parentage but out of love. Love of brothers of course”

His eyes say otherwise.

“Thank you for your kindness. You are a virtuous and humble man. I should hope I do not disappoint you Vincent”

I felt him press further against me as I uttered his name, terror blooming in my heart, but he then pulled away.

“I shall let you pack your things, I will send my attendant for our carriage”

He finally released my hands but he watched me intently as I put away my wares for the day sending a ghoulish looking fellow to fetch his carriage.

“Do you have any finer clothes than these”

“I regret to tell you I do not. These are the finest I can afford”

“We will have to remedy that at once. Do you care much for cravats”

“I am fond of them”

“Good, I will dress you in the finest silk and lace. I believe I will find you something in green, it complements the flush of your skin”

“Thank you Vincent, you are too generous”

This is far too much, I feared for what he would ask of me in return, but as the carraige rolled into view and Lord Villanueva-Navarro opened the door for me it struck me that my time to refuse had long since passed. Whatever would happen now would be in part due to mine own cowardice.

[bluesky88diary]

My heart is divided right now. So much love dwells within that it feels like flood overflowing my sadness. Yes, I look forward with much hope, backward with gratefulness and at you with love, but... Only one thought was giving me strengh do not give up and break through high barriers, I could see you soon and feel your presence close to me. And now it feels like in childhood times playing dandy, tryin very hard to break the game and after finnal boss all of a sudden he revives and there is another extra level you're not ready for. Beside that I'm very glad about KARA success and to see how much joy and happiness it brings in your life. Please share more of this, don't you know how much this is precious to your fans? Or you're also a little sad deeply in heart, because you didn't expected I will be able to get that far by loving you? Please, don't be sad, there is many beautiful things on going. Trust the Lord and don't lean on your own understanding. It's not an easy thing, but let's trust and move forward. I would like to take all responsibility if you find something to complain about, even so it's because I want you to be confident in every step and enjoy it. I'm very happy about being a part of your heart and insipre you to smile and laugh, to love and move again. Yet what if there another unread dream will come true, see you on another Karasia stage. Last time years before I thought it will never happen, but today I will say again that imposible is nothing. Let's make a happy step in New Year.

It was very heavy to leave Paris without you. However Paris never was a favorite place for me, as far as not. Only one thing I like about Paris is some sort of impact related to beloved one, the only thing I enjoy about. My dream always was to see east, and partialy it happened in Hong Kong. Also you reminded me childhood dream about Los Angeles, such a many movies were related to that city, but I never thought it could be possible to get there. Also you like to descover such famous places from movies. Could it become our point of impact? Interesting, it's real like never before. First I have to deal with all papers to arrange my living in U.S. and then I will come back to this question. 

I'm very glad I could make dream of my father come true. He was so happy to see me. I'm much less emotional about meeting people, beside my beloved. Litteraly I tell you the difference is huge. Today we went to buy me a new suit. First what impressed me, alot of trash like rags. Litteraly! In Ukraine such stuff worth nothing and I never buy it, because I can get very good clothes almost for free, but here even for some junk one must pay alot. It was difficult to find something I could like. Perhaps nothing cheaper that $300 wasn't worthy, but ofter hours of roaming my imagination created some decent combination for very modest price, only $150 for jacket, shirt and jeans. Interesting would you like my choice. I will show you later how it looks alike. However I found decent shoes to accomplish mentioned suit but there was no my size. Whatever... I'm not a shoping person and very careful with my spendings. Father also had a wish to buy me a phone, for instance IPhone 14 Pro, but I compared all pros and cons and Pixel 6A won, because only thing I'm interested in is filming and pictures. I count it pointless to over pay for nothing. I'm not a celebrity after all ㅋㅋㅋ. Soon I will share with you pictes of a bit better quality. 

Feelings about U.S. (hm, about us?) Even first day feels totaly different. From food to the way everything moves around. When you watch the movies it makes some feeling about it and so it is for real. People here fat, not fat body, but fat life, oversized. You don't need that much but you do because you can. I never used to live like that, and I hope I won't get used to such a mindset. 

How my beloved angel is doing? Seems like you enjoy this time alot. But also it feels like you get used that thing come and begone. I'm not like that, I don't live by moment. I like to create something that will last. Well well.. You guys are so funny this way, like guys from Beverly Hills ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

[thecandywrites]

Ode to Kinktober Part 4

Let the mutual pining begin.

Part 4

Then Manidore came back with a huge bag full of different sets of clothes as he came in and stopped dead in his tracks to see you standing there before you self consciously ducked behind Thyla and pulled your hood back up to conceal your face as once again your wings sprouted to help shield you more before Nahlo said something to his brother through gritted teeth in a tone that clearly meant ‘get out of here’ but Thyla translated that he was both saying that and adding  ‘you’re making her uncomfortable by staring, you’re being rude, so stop’ as he got the bag from his brother and then urged him to leave before Thyla let out a growl herself before Manidore finally left. 

Nahlo offered you the bag of clothes to change into as you wearily but gratefully took them and went into a bathroom to change into them. You were grateful that your moura cloak could simply be your undergarments as you did your best to use the paper towels they had in there and got them wet to wipe as much of your electrum glitter off of yourself in the process as you really wished you could get a decent bath. But it was better than nothing. 

And you were happy that the bag had quite the variety of clothes in a variety of sizes and with a little trial and error, you were able to find enough clothes to fit you and that you now had a hood to cover your head and gloves to cover your hands. You marveled at the softness of the fabric of the clothes and were so happy they were clean and smelled amazing. And while most of them were pretty big on you, you were just so grateful to at least get a few layers of clothes on you that would both hide how skinny you were and hide your glowing state.  

“Thank you.” You thanked him once you emerged and handed the bag back to him before he put that on Thyla’s saddle too before he presented you with a pair of socks and a special pair of boots. 

“You’re welcome.” He answered in his best version of marinai as you took the socks and boots from him since your cloak provided shoes still glowed before you let your cloak recede so you were barefoot to put the socks and shoes on from the comfort of a nearby chair. 

‘How do I say ‘thank you’ in his language?’ You asked Thyla. 

“Shalam” You tried to repeat the word and the smile he gave you told you that you got it right or at least close enough that he understood. He knelt down at your feet and helped you put the boots on since you had apready put your socks on yourself. 

‘Ok, now these are special boots, they will fit and conform to your feet.’ Thyla explained before Thylo held your feet up by the back of the ankle and said something else. 

‘Now stretch your feet and wiggle your toes.’ Thyla translated Nahlo’s instructions before you did as he asked and grinned in relief when your feet cracked and popped as you rolled your ankles and stretched your feet as the boots themselves took the measurements of your range of motion, foot size, measured your arches and the other proportions of your feet before they slowly then all at once conformed to your feet as you giggled as you watched the boot mechanically or perhaps, magically conform to your feet before it stopped. 

“Is it done?” You asked before Nahlo smiled and nodded and let your feet down before he stood back up and helped you to your feet and said something as he gestured around him. 

“I take it he wants me to walk around to make sure they fit ok and are comfortable?” You guessed. 

‘Yup, you got it.’ Thyla beamed before you did and were blown away by how comfortable they were. You always thought your moura cloak shoes were always perfect and comfortable. But somehow, these were so much better. 

“Best shoes I’ve ever had on my feet.” You praised which got Nahlo to smile happily. 

“Ok, let’s go get lunch.” Nahlo invited. 

The three of you left the building only for you to be met with several dragons waiting for you outside the building, eager to be your mode of transportation and translators while you were here. 

“Oh, well hello everyone, it’s nice to meet you too! Family of the wing I see.” You greeted them as you pet them all and got to know them individually as their grasp of marinai was pretty good and understood you before you picked your favorite. Axera. He was the sweetest and most affectionate and also just so beautiful. Bright white and opalescent, just like your own feathers were when you were a bird or had your wings out.  

“Who’s dragon am I riding?” You asked. 

‘It doesn’t matter. We are all sons and daughters of moura dragons. We are honored and happy to have you ride us. Not all dragons here have a rider they’re attached to.’ Axera practically beamed as he practically pranced in delight to have you riding him. He followed Thyla as she was quick to take to the air and fly to her favorite restaurant with the others accompanied you as you were impressed that you got the hang of riding them pretty easily. 

You were  relieved that they all stayed with you to stand guard over you as you walked with Axera to the open air restaurant as Thylo got one of the far tables on the edges, farther away from the others eating there before he handed you a menu. You looked over the strange words and had Axera look it over and translate what you were looking at what each thing on the menu was before you picked the most appetizing thing on the menu before Axera told Nahlo what that was as he nodded in understanding and ordered for you when the waitress came over to take your order before you handed back the menu to her, careful to keep your head down to keep your hood covering your glowing face while a scarf covered most of your face before she left and you chanced a look around. 

You noticed everywhere you looked- that dragons walked among the citizens like large dogs or horses would as there were even ‘bathroom stations’ for them in various spots so there wouldn’t be any manure on the streets as this place was especially clean. Just, practically spotlessly clean. And being on Neveah, you realized how advanced this civilization was. And how beautiful of a nation they had built here. No wonder they were protective over it. 

But you could still imagine how delighted your brethren would be to be able to come here and enjoy it if they could ever get invited to do so. The food alone would be a great reason to come, the scent of the food was making your stomach growl and your mouth start to water before the waitress came back with your drink as you thanked her the best way you could as she at least seemed pleased to hear it and said what Nahlo had said earlier ‘you’re welcome’ which was ‘Lashime’. 

Then a band began to play music and you couldn’t help but look over and smile bittersweetly at the dancers, wondering if you should have just stayed at the host colony to dance as they were playing music on machines and other instruments plugged into said machines making them sound rather otherworldly but still really good. 

Nahlo curiously watched as your attention was drawn to them before he said something else which brought your attention back to him as he said it again and nodded over to where others were coming to dance in front of the performers. 

“Is he asking me to dance?” You murmured over to Axera. 

‘Yup. You should dance. It will lift your spirits.’ Axera said as he used his snout to gently nudge you out of your seat. 

‘I don’t even know how to…’ you began to argue.

‘Yes you do. It’s music, you can feel the rhythm from here and are fighting not to dance in your seat. So- go, dance. You’ll feel better and more comfortable and at ease once you do. The only things that bite around here are the dragons and we would never dream of biting you. The people are friendly and mean you no harm. It’s ok. You’ll be ok. I will make sure to let you know when the food is ready.’ Axera talked over your own thoughts louder than your own voice was in your head as he outright shoved his snout under your butt to get you to stand and practically nuzzled you into Nahlo who caught you as your body collided with his own as he ‘oofed’ from the impact as you could hear him yelling at Axera through Axera’s head. 

“Sorry.” You apologized to Nahlo as your shoulders rose as your face contorted as you tried to distance your mind from Axera’s to a degree before Nahlo’s tone as he talked to you was completely different as he seemed just as mortified that Axera had done that and embarrassed you. 

But he gently offered you his hand after he made sure you were standing up on your own feet as he nodded over to the dancefloor before you took it and let him lead you over to the dance floor before he very politely held you the way you had seen others dance as you simply followed his lead and couldn’t stop yourself from smiling when he was actually quite the gifted dancer as following his lead came rather easy and natural. Even the new but delightfully wonderful music that came from the instruments and other machines out of the music amplifiers. Axera had been right. This did make you feel better. That even if you were in a different country with a different peoples, they were still similar enough to yourself that you didn’t feel too much like an alien among them and by the next dance, he was holding you a little closer as the music was faster and much closer to what you really enjoyed as the steps came almost instinctively to you before you let a laugh escape you since you were actually having fun. 

Nahlo was actually a pretty handsome dancing partner at least. He was just a head taller than you. A bit broader than other moura men were. A bit more stout but obviously strong. As clearly demonstrated that in one effortless motion, he picked you up and twirled you in place that got you to softly squeal in delight that he was strong enough to do so. And once he set you down, you were practically chest to chest and suddenly you couldn’t take your eyes off of his face as his eyes were, surprisingly more captivating than you thought they’d be. You suddenly wished you knew his language so you could at least speak to him directly. But at least his face was expressive and you could wordlessly communicate that you were at least having fun by giving him a happy smile that he soon mirrored and continued to dance the rest of the song before you both turned to see your food was ready and was brought out to the table as Axera and Thyla both called over to you to tell you that it had come out before he was happy to follow you back to the table before you tried and were impressed that the food platter was practically as big as the table and was enough to feed like 6 people, you failed not to practically inhale the food because it had been two full days since you had eaten normal food last. 

If you had thought the food smelled good, it tasted somehow a hundred times better. Those Neveahan dragons were probably protecting Neveah’s food supply because if your brethren knew about such delectable food, they would swarm this place like bees or perhaps like locusts. Granted they would leave behind their weight in gold. But you didn’t know of anything that would ever grow from gold. And eating in the open air with the sun, the sun continued to feed and nourish you, granted not as much as this food was, but every little bit helped. 

The sun got just on the late afternoon spot before the moon began to rise as your moura marks bloomed around you as you gasped softly to see them as you tried to mentally turn them off they would not, they acted like your wings in the sun, picking up the moon’s rays as you realized the moon’s rays were actually more beneficial than the sun, which wasn’t right and you didn’t know what that meant. All the dragons immediately encircled you and opened up their wings wide to conceal you and the phenomenon as Nahlo just stared in awe as you just stopped fighting it and gave Nahlo an apologetic look before finally caved and let them fully come out as they soon became like a halo of wings around you to catch the moon’s rays. 

“Well, that didn’t last too long did it.” You muttered before you sighed in defeat before you pushed your hood off your head and as you were once again glowing like the moon before you just forewent the gloves to eat with your hands like he was, ripping the half of loaf of bread to use to dip and scoop up the pieces of steak and hunks of lobster and dip them into the variety of sauces. Especially since you didn’t really want to use the flatware, just in case you turned that metal, that looked like steel to you- to electrum either by accident or otherwise without the gloves insulating your hands from the flatware. 

Then the waitress tried to drop something else off at the table but couldn’t get past the dragons and their wings before Nahlo got up and reached through the wings to take the bowl of water from her and the pea sized seed looking thing from her too before he sat down as you watched him gently use his thumbnail to peel off the little outer shell, like a piece of corn’s kernel when corn was popped with butter back in your colony before he dropped it in the water and suddenly the seed instantly seemed to grow and transform into a huge, still steaming loaf of bread as you were staring wide eyed at it as you looked from it to the half of loaf of bread you were using to eat from was the same thing. This was bread you were already eating! They had magic to transform bread from a tiny pea sized thing to a fully baked loaf with just a bowl full of water! 

‘It’s not magic. It’s a native food to Neveah that came over from the homeworld. They call it ‘breadseed’. Instead of growing grains in a field. They grow it in ice at the poles and only use the winter’s darkness and the moon and the southern lights to grow it at the southpole that is only a day’s worth of flight away from here.’ Axera explained to you as you just stared in surprise as Nahlo took the loaf out of the bowl and ripped it half very carefully but tore it in such a way to reveal that it had a little pocket inside of it. That had yet more breadseed lining the pocket as he handed it to you. 

‘It’s a gift. So that wherever you are and wherever you go, you will have food.’ Axera explained before you gratefully and graciously took it from him and marveled at it. Such a beautiful and wonderful thing. 

“So the Neveahns do leave the island?” You asked Axera. 

‘Yes, but not like mouras do. You take delight in flying all over the supersphere. The Neveahns aren’t as adventurous as mouras are. They really only fly between here and the south pole to plant and harvest this crop and because the south pole is so cold, they know it’s safe from any other pillaging the food source.’ Axera explained. 

“Well such knowledge will be safely kept secret by me. If I ever find a way to leave here and go home.” You told Axera. 

‘Nahlo figured as much. You didn’t seem like the conquering and destroying type.’ Axera answered. 

“What type does he think I am?” You asked Axera as you looked curiously from him back to Nahlo as Nahlo seemed to be put on the spot before he stuttered and stammered an answer. 

‘He wants me to tell you that you’re obviously the proverbial ‘fish out of water’ type. And that you are as innocent as the moon is beautiful. Then he stumbled over himself admitting that you were very beautiful and that he’s grateful for us being your shield or just about every man who would look at you would want to either ask you dance or ask you to do much more than dance if you catch my drift.’ Axera answered with a laugh of amusement. 

“Ah, I see. Yes. Fish out of water indeed. Practically a sick mermaid on red algae in a fishbowl at this point.” You muttered as you put the extra breadseed with your benar in your special pocketbook like purse before Nahlo said his language’s word for mermaid. 

‘Nahlo wants to know how you know about the merpeople. Since he understands that you live in the mountains, very far from the ocean.’’ Thyla translated for her rider. 

“Same homeworld. We were created then evolved side by side. Mouras were in the clouds. Merfolk in the waters. Our homeworld is a waterworld. No dry land anywhere. Only water on the surface. Much smaller world too. Only a fifth of the size of this new world. The water turned red from algae turning from green and edible to toxic and red. That’s when they reached out to us to help heal them. But while we could heal them one on one- but only one at a time. For everyone 1 merperson we healed, a hundred and even a thousand more got sick. The merfolk were facing extinction. Then the collision with the supersphere and we were both saved. The merfolk were happy to have a planet five times bigger, even with all the dry land on the surface. Red algae still blooms but in much smaller spots and easily and cleared away when it does here.” You explained before Nahlo said something else. 

‘So your kind was not the reason you were brought here? It was the merpeople who were the reason you were brought here? That is what he is asking.’ Thyla translated. 

“Yes.” You nodded yes before Nahlo asked another question. 

‘And you’re not angry or upset?’ Thyla translated before you took a deep breath. 

“If he will trust me with the secret of his food. I will trust him the secret as to why we’re not.” You began. 

“When we were converged here. We were very happy at first. This world is a much bigger world, five times bigger than the homeworld. The sun is 10 times  brighter, bigger and stronger and fills us with more power, and more magic than we could have ever known we could have. At first we explored the surface of the world, the dry land we could walk on- instead of having to swim like our merfolk counterparts. But then others see us and hunt us and turn us into prey. At first we mate with the phoenixes since we change shape and form to that of birds like the phoenix- to gain their power to spew fire like them and the dragons. But it was not enough. They hunted us for the first 300 years that our world converged with this one. Many of my foremothers were captured like birds caught in a net. We were imprisoned and chained in dungeons and held captive until we gave our captors what they wanted from us, to the point we could buy our own freedom again. But halfway through The Great Hunt, heavenly moura had something of a war, but not no one died, but it tore our entire species into three groups. Half of all moura decided that the surface was too dangerous to ever fly below the clouds and way too far away for any other to catch us. The other half found other peoples that we like. That we love. But they could not enter the heavens like we can. So we must find a middle ground. Skyland moves too much and in the opposite direction of everything else. It’s hard to keep track of time while on skyland. But even the skyland was too high for our loved ones to breathe. So we make new homes in the mountains all over the world. Cities that we call colonies. Which is where some of the dragons who are here now are from. The mountains give us what we need. Caves for our dragons so our dragons protect us and our homes from invaders. We make gold for the dragons and their caves. We make gold to buy other food and supplies to build our homes with. All colonies only have one road that leads to them. And merchants of all kinds travel up the steep and skinny mountain roads to sell food and other household items to us. And we buy it with the gold we make, everyone thinks that all the colonies are simply sitting on top of gold mines. But that’s not the case. We choose mountains with hidden valleys that can catch water and keep animals in to both feed the dragons and feed ourselves. We make the gold the way I now make electrum from other metals but other mouras can turn anything and everything they want to- into gold, even the rocks we dig out from the mountains to build our homes with, the dirt and rocks we sweep off the streets. And the dragon manure fertilizes the fields for the livestock. But mouras usually have much more control over their powers. My powers with electrum are brand new, only 2 days old. I haven’t learned how to control my own power to make electrum yet. But I am the only one that I know of or have heard of, that can do it.” You explained as Nahlo listened intently both to you and to Thyla as she translated your words for him before a myriad of expressions washed over his face before he began to talk back. 

‘He says ‘I’m sorry you were hunted. And that you were pulled into this world without wanting to or having a choice about it. We are the same. There was a peoples that were created with us that got sick and to cure them we were brought here. We wait for the time where we can go home.’ Thyla translated. 

“Even with the dangers we face. Most of us would not leave this world to return to the homeworld if a portal opened up tomorrow and the invitation to go back was called out. We’ve made too many friends and interbred with other species too much and had so many children, for many generations now- to ever want to leave our families that could never live, let alone survive in our homeworld. Even those that stay in the clouds do not wish to go back because it would be like an adult trying to fit into the clothes they wore as a small child. There’s too many of us now, we’ve reached every length of the skies now. And the clouds here are so much better and our powers are so strong here, that if we were to go back, we’d lose everything we’ve built and created since our world converged with this one. We love this larger world with its bigger and stronger sun that feeds us better than our old one ever did and bigger skies and horizons and it’s dry land in addition to the watery depths. Although I think the dragons would happily go home with you if they had the chance.” You smiled as you reached over and pet Axera on his back, itching that one spot between his shoulder blades that made him kick like a dog getting it’s favorite spot scratched as Nahlo was left speechless as he considered those words very carefully before he started to try to say something and then stopped himself and then tried to start again before Thyla practically rolled her eyes. 

‘He wants to know how easy it is for your kind to interbreed with everything else but is too embarrassed to ask because he doesn’t want to be rude or offensive but his curiosity is eating him alive.’ Axera muttered lowly to you. 

“Oh.” You hummed a giggle while you blushed the prettiest shade of pink. 

“Anything remotely our size and that has the same body shape and confirmation, like head, neck, shoulders, arms, torso, pelvis, legs. Very easy, wings are a bonus. Tails? Flip a coin. Angels in low and mid heaven are the easiest because they’re the closest to us. Crystal angels are more elemental in nature than us but so far the children are happy to reside anywhere and everywhere between the cloud realm and the crystal heaven realm. But from there, the only place to go is down, so obviously we mate with our own kind, a lot. Because mouras whether in the clouds, in the colonies or in Dorierra- like to have children by the dozen. But then after that, unfortunately, humans from Earth, which were our most successful hunters and captors because without our wings, we look no different than them, even though we are vastly different by nature. But from there, there are the taunstons, which are from here originally, this is their homeworld which is what my father’s father is, he’s taunston, so I’m part taunston. Then fae, elves and dwarves, at least that I know of. I’m not sure about other kinds of peoples anywhere else because my colony is near the north pole but the north pole has onikama, or bear people. White like the snow. Huge like dragons but covered in very thick fur.” You began to list off on your fingers. 

“But Dorierra, which is a moura city built by the once enslaved then freed mouras after the Great Hunt- is actually a very nice place. It’s similar to this but not as nice or advanced as here. It’s on the equator, between here and my home colony, they do a lot more intermarrying than anywhere else. And they are our only stop when we do the summer solstice flight that takes 16 hours if you don’t count the break we take at Dorierra, because they offer food and a chance to rest after flying halfway around the world before we get in the air and finish the rest of the flight. Otherwise we can fly around the poles, depending on the latitude we do it in- in only a few hours. The line that went over here the other night, had I not been struck down by lighting, would have taken us only 7 hours, 8 at the most.” You explained before Nahlo asked something else. 

‘He wants to know if others would ever want to land here and rest and eat too.’ Thyla revealed. 

“We would love to- if we knew we were invited. We’ve learned since the Great Hunt to not land anywhere where we are not welcome or invited to or are safe to land. The dragons from here that have settled in the colonies have told us you’d kill us on sight just for setting foot onto this land. I am thinking that perhaps you and the other Neveahans would think we would invade you or bring harm to you which we would never dream of doing. But the dragons insisted that it was not something that could ever be discussed or could be debated or ever questioned. We trust the dragons and take them at their word and do what we can to avoid this place because too many of our brethren have died an early death from being attacked and raided on and fought against thinking that our colonies are sitting on gold mines. Entire colonies have been lost, our children killed just for the rumor and the promise of our gold. We do not wish to start anymore wars with anyone else or lose any more of our brethren, especially the young and the more vulnerable." You explained.

'Nahlo would like for you to know he understands the trepedation. And he understands how you must protect the vulnerable and that if he was in your shoes, he would be terrified. And that if the moura dragons told him the same things about the colonies as the Neveahan dragons have told the moura, he would never venture outside of home either. Much less fly anywhere near them.' Thyla told you without Nahlo having to say so himself but you could sense the sincereity.

"But if we knew we would be invited, that we would be welcomed, as friends. Maybe even for business. This fabric- you could sell it for whatever you'd want for it in any colony. Name your price and we'd pay it. But in good conscience, the only warning I would and could give if Neveah would open it's doors to mountain moura, is that we would probably eat every scrap of food you have but leave you a mountain of gold in it’s place if you did open the invitation though.” You grinned before lighting stuck and thunder boomed in the distance and you immediately pulled your hood back up drew the strings tight to cover more of your face and got your gloves back on and now that you were scared for you life, your moon moura marks finally pulled back into you, taking the last bits of the moon rays into you as you looked down to see that they were now sprawled out over skin like tattoos. 

Nahlo could clearly see that you were uneased by the storm before the dragons lowered their wings since you covered back up before Nahlo asked you something before Thyla and Axera began to fight before anyone could translate what he said.

“Hey! Hey! Stop! What’s wrong?” You asked as you got between them to push them apart to keep from actually fighting right there next to the tables where more people were coming to get an early dinner and put up umbrellas, just in case it would rain. 

‘Nahlo wants to invite you to his family’s farm to stay in his family’s guest house while you stay here.’ Axera said.

‘And grandma said to return you back to her home when you were done eating.’ Thyla snapped. 

“Well I don’t want to be an inconvenience or put Nahlo and especially his family out especially when I’m just a stranger to them.” You ducked your head sheepishly. 

‘No, every moura dragon in the island are all practically begging for you to go stay with them and the families that care for them. And if you show partiality to one family over their moura dragons, many of their sons will wish to have you choose any dragon on their farm to pair yourself as a rider to just to keep you here. That’s why it’s best that you go back to Grandma Isla because she is old enough and big enough that no one will make you do anything you don’t want to do since you clearly only want to go home.’ Thyla insisted. 

“But isn’t your own mother a moura dragon?” You asked her. 

‘Yes and so is my own father. They all want to see you since you are the first reminder of home to ever come here and they all feel homesick, knowing you’re here all alone and they all want to keep you company but most if not all of them are stuck incubating clutches of eggs and can't’ leave their nests but ask that if at all possible for you to come and at least say hi in your very pretty mother tongue.’ Axera insisted. 

“I didn’t come to start fights or be a problem or be an inconvenience to anyone, I just…got too distracted by the stars in the southern sky and pretty pinks and purples of the southern pole as opposed to the greens and blues of the northern ones to notice I was too close to the storm clouds. Would it be better if I just went back to the island?” You asked. 

“No!” Nahlo said which got you to blink in surprise before he started speaking so fast you could barely catch any of it but his tone was scared and panicked and anxious. 

‘Anywhere but there, Nahlo will take you anywhere on Neveah that you will feel comfortable, except to the outer rings just in case you get struck by lightning again and just in case the magnetism keeps you there again. But he promises and swears you will not be a problem or an inconvenience. You would be an honored guest.’ Thyla and Axera both answered. 

“Ok, then I’ll take him up on his generous offer of hospitality, and if once I’m healed, I can have the chance to give and show him the same hospitality.” You answered as Axera practically slithered under you to get you back into the saddle while Nahlo got all the food dumped into another new loaf of bread to take home as leftovers before he hopped onto Thyla and all the dragons happily took to the air and flew to Nahlo’s home.